Spinning Point further update

Over the last few days and following our latest update, the Council has received a number of questions from residents. We have released the following statement addressing some of the points:

There has been a lot of debate about the borrowing to help fund this multi-million pound scheme, much of it inaccurate especially around financial information.

The Council only agreed to this borrowing following a rigorous process of checking and rechecking the figures to make sure they are viable. That process showed some earlier mooted ideas were too risky in the current climate.

The preferred option represents a good investment for the future. Spinning Point will generate income for the Council, provide jobs and bring in new funding and investment.

We have borrowed against the future income of the scheme, not on money brought in by council tax.

Parking is obviously a big concern. But now we have the preferred scheme agreed by councillors, we can now undertake an extensive review of car park, which is also a condition of planning approval for the scheme.

There has been some concern on why the meeting was held in part two, which means public and press can be excluded. Councils only use this process sparingly because we are democratic institutions. However, there are times when information put before councillors in councils across the country is commercially sensitive which would if released would risk entire projects.

Many people support what we are doing and are indeed very excited about the future. The borough is on the up and we dearly hope even those who have doubts about our plans will soon see the benefits such a development bring to the town.