Bedford Borough Council has said buying a building on Bedford’s High Street shows that town centre regeneration is a “key priority”.
But opposition councillors have urged a rethink of the “reckless” property purchase.
A borough council spokesperson said the purchase of the Lloyds Bank building reflects the “importance of a strong and vibrant town centre”.
They added: “The Mayes Yard area has been identified as a key area of change within the emerging Local Plan and a key development site proposals for the re-development and revitalisation of Bedford town centre.
“Acquisition of further property interests, such as the Lloyds Bank building, would enable the council to promote a significant regeneration opportunity,” they said.
However, a cross-party group of councillors have called for the Bedford mayor to rethink his decision to purchase the building.
The leader of the Liberal Democrat Group, councillor Henry Vann (De Parys) said spending money councils don’t have is how they go bust.
“Buying this building is a huge and expensive purchase – £1,375,000, plus over a hundred thousand pounds of other costs,” he said.
“Even worse, it appears as though the council is paying far above what it is worth.
“It makes me angry that the Conservatives always claim money is short when it comes to basic services for residents.
“But they always seem to have enough for their pet projects,” he said.
Independent councillor Doug McMurdo (Sharnbrook) said: “Wishing the town centre to be more vibrant doesn’t make it so.
“This is highly worrying and I have serious concerns about value for Bedford Borough taxpayers.”
Green councillor Lucy Bywater (Castle and Newnham) added: “Bedford residents need money spending on vital services, not vanity schemes.”
Bedford mayor, Tom Wootton responded: “The Liberal Democrats spent the best part of 14 years brutally cutting services just to waste millions of pounds on town centre vanity projects.
“And what did they have to show for it after all this time?
“Underused, half-empty car parks and shops with businesses jumping over each other to leave Bedford, utter failure.
“Purchasing Lloyds is part of a broader, strategic vision to revitalise Bedford High Street for the long-term benefit of our community, foster economic growth, create new community spaces.
“And ensure Bedford remains a vibrant place for residents and businesses.
“I want to reassure everyone that we conducted an independent valuation to ensure a fair market value was paid and in fact we actually negotiated the price down – well done to our officers for pulling that off,” he said.
“Our budget for this acquisition was allocated specifically for community investment, meaning essential services remain fully funded and protected.
“We aren’t in the business of failure and we will see residents’ hopes and ambitions for the town centre through, because we work for you,” he said.
Although the decision was reported to have been taken on Thursday, 17 October, the corresponding report outlining why the purchase should be made has yet to be made public (at the time of publication).
The council spokesperson said: “Details of the executive decision will be uploaded to our website shortly.”
by John Guinn
Local Democracy Reporter
