Conwy Council could always sell the building cheap to Anwyl or Cartrefi Conwy who could have it demolished in a few years after it is deemed beyond all economic repair, just like the Bee Hotel in Abergele!
I think this comment on the Daily Post thread says it all.
VConwy CBC appears to have a problem with honesty/openness. The reality (following an FOI request) is that the occupancy of the Coed Pella and Bodlondeb offices during mid-October 2022 averaged around 33% and that all staff working in an office could have been housed in the Coed Pella Building alone with this office still only being around half full (on a peak usage day).
Given that the running costs (rent, maintenance, and services) of the Coed Pella office alone are likely to be in excess of £1.8m per annum (Bodlondeb?), it would appear that Conwy CBC is currently wasting in excess of £1m per annum on funding empty office space. This is viewed as scandalous and yet all Conwy CBC appear to want to do is to deny the problem exists and undertake endless reviews of the situation.
How many years do the council expect the hard pressed tax payers of the county to cover the costs of such apparent waste. Felt to be long overdue that the apparent ethos at Conwy CBC changed from a state of Gung Ho/arrogance to humility/competence (they are supposed to be public servants after all).
The council have already announced a significant increase to the Council Tax Premium on Second Homes and are likely to shortly announce a significant increase to Council Tax itself. Yet most of this extra revenue will simply be going on funding empty office space! The council tax payers of Conwy deserve better.
The fate of Conwy council’s Bodlondeb HQ was thrown into doubt when one councillor admitted she felt she was lying to the public when making assurances about the building’s future. While Conwy’s leader said a decision on the future of Bodlondeb would only be made through democracy, the council’s new chief executive said a "process" was being followed and options looked at.
The scrutiny meeting discussions revolved around a review of the cash-strapped authority’s assets, as Conwy faces a shortfall of around £30m in the next financial year. Cabinet member for finance Cllr Mike Priestley also said "no decision whatsoever had been taken regarding Bodlondeb".
But councillors weren’t buying into the promises, as at no point was the sale of the iconic building ruled out. Conwy councillor Sian Grady said she was continually having to quash rumours about the future of the grade-two listed council HQ.
"Cllr Mike (Priestley) keeps coming back and reassuring me that no decision is made, but I keep getting told this,” said Cllr Grady. “But then I keep hearing from different councillors that it (the sale of Bodlondeb) is a foregone conclusion, and I as a councillor am reassuring the public, and I feel I'm lying to the public because I keep getting told different things.”
She added: “I do not know where I stand on it as a local member, and I'm really concerned about Bodlondeb, and the public is really concerned about it. They are constantly asking me these questions, and I just don't know what to tell them."
The new chief executive Rhun ap Gareth responded to councillor concerns that the fate of the building had already been sealed.
Mr ap Gareth said council officers were currently assessing Conwy’s assets. "What's in the pipeline for Bodlondeb, it's a process, isn't it?” said Mr ap Gareth.
"It's a process. We are identifying options, different options available. There is no decision at all being made as to what we do with it. It's just about providing information for democracy for them to come up with a preferred option.” He added: "There is a lot of work going on at the moment.”
Leader Cllr Charlie McCoubrey also admitted difficult conversations were to come once asset reports were finalised. "Just wanted to reassure members of my absolute respect for the democratic process, and that every member is elected here, and they have a vote," he said.
"That's right and proper, and secondly it would be very stupid to try and bring something (a report or proposal) to members where there wasn’t support because they won't stand for it."
Referring to Cllr Andrew Wood referencing a report being compiled on Conwy’s assets, the leader added: "As Cllr Andrew has said, it’s just a way of gathering evidence and being able to provide members with choices based on factual things, not necessarily emotions. It’s about making sure the information is there when we have these difficult conversations and making a balanced decision."
The conversation about the future of Bodlondeb arose after Cllr Anne McCaffrey asked a question at the finance and resources scrutiny committee meeting. Cllr McCaffrey wanted to know exactly which council committee or working group was looking at the authority’s assets as part of an internal review.
Cllr McCaffrey was concerned there was a duplication of duty between the budget working group and the asset management task and finish group sub-committee. The task and finish group chair Cllr Andrew Wood confirmed he will report back to the scrutiny committee with more information.
A decision will then be taken as to whether the task and finish group is needed. But several councillors raised concerns as at no point was the sale of Bodlondeb ruled out.
Instead Cllr Andrew Wood, the chair of the asset management task and finish group, spoke about the "amalgamation" of Bodlondeb, and presumably, its staff, into the council’s new flagship £58m Coed Pella building in Colwyn Bay. "We are waiting for reports for Bodlondeb," said Cllr Wood.
"You know the idea is to transfer and dispose of an asset, but at the end of the day, we have the cost of moving the data share and other various things that are actually in Bodlondeb... and actually look at getting, before we invigorate, somebody interested in doing something with it.”
He added: “We are waiting for information. We need more information. We are trying to provide as much information to come back to democracy and share it.”
At which point, scrutiny committee chair Cllr Cheryl Carlisle interjected: "Cllr Andrew, can I just stop you there? I think it is a little premature talking about a done deal disposing of Bodlondeb.” Cllr Wood then denied he said it was a done deal.
Later Cllr Harry Saville also said: “I am somewhat surprised to find that two cabinet members and one scrutiny member have started the process of looking at disposing of this building.” Cllr Paul Luckock then proposed Conwy considered closing schools to save money. He said: "I think the school assets should be in this as well because it seems to me there are significant savings to be made from - I know this is controversial - from amalgamating schools and closing schools.”
He added that school assets needed to be rigorously and robustly debated, but Cllr Mike Priestley said it was not currently on the cards and was part of a different process. A future report on Conwy’s assets is expected to return for debate.
From....https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/i-feel-im-lying-public-26071736
Cartrefi Conwy would love to knock it down and build flats, McCoubrey would go for that
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