CCBC costs and cutting

[SteveH]

Conwy County Council has revealed how much money it made from the sale of its Civic Centre building in Colwyn Bay. The authority faces an 18.5m shortfall next year, sparking fears of widespread service cuts and council tax rises.

But this week the authority revealed it boosted its bank balance by 250,000        from the sale of the building off Abergele Road near Old Colwyn. Part of the Civic site was sold in August 2021 for a housing development whilst the building itself was put on the market at the end of 2021 after an earlier sale fell through.

Council staff vacated the Civic Centre building in 2018 when Conwy modernised its services and moved staff to its flagship state-of-the-art 58m Coed Pella building in the centre of Colwyn Bay. The Civic Centre?s new owners revealed last week they plan to spend ?2-3m to convert the iconic Grade-II listed building into a four-star hotel.

cont https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/colwyn-bays-former-civic-centre-25590429?IYA-reg=49560bcd-5a9c-47f0-8fc5-ba2e71710589


PS
Thank goodness Conwy does not make this kind of mistake...........
Denbighshire Council issues apology over 8m gap in estimated cost of coastal defence scheme
Council officers noticed the error when preparing a business case for the Welsh Government
cont https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/council-issues-apology-over-8m-25589170

[Meleri]

CCBC pay over ?15,000 for a single person per year for B&B as there aren't enough units to house them. At present 272 people (82 of them children) are living in B&B accommodation in the County. Recently Janet Finch Saunders pointed out despite people being desperate for homes Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board has as many as 750 units of accommodation not in use. Given that both these organizations are haemorrhaging funds you would think the powers that be would come together & house these poor people. Then funding for the accommodation would go back into the Health Board towards better care for the people of Conwy County, instead of the landlords pocket. What do other Forum members think?

[DVT]

Left hand and right hand, and no brain in between ?

[norman08]

Wonder where these 750 betsi units are wonder if she?s counting the units in BYN,   Their are more hotels & B& Bs here with local homeless families than guests the latest one is the station hotel junction.

[SteveH]

Update on the above, and further bad news ............

Conwy Council is facing a projected shortfall of more than 30 million in its budget for next year (2023/24) because of spiralling inflation and a volatile economic climate. At a cabinet meeting this week, Cllr Mike Priestley, who holds the portfolio for finance, warned councillors of the dire predicament the authority is potentially.

Whilst the figures are only estimates, Cllr Priestley admitted the worrying forecast could get even worse. The projected 30.5m black hole was expected to be 18.5m just weeks ago.

cont https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/conwy-facing-30-million-shortfall-25599065?IYA-reg=49560bcd-5a9c-47f0-8fc5-ba2e71710589

[Meleri]

Apparently there has been a lot of talk behind closed doors at CCBC regarding ways to cut costs & some of the ward members are up in arms as they have not been included. Pat on the back to Cllr Luckock for asking if all Cllrs could be included, especially the ward members for the areas these proposed cuts will affect. One such area is the Council Offices in Bodlondeb & Cllr Luckock came straight out with it & asked the Cabinet Member for Finance was it true that plans are being made presently for this move to Coed Pella Offices & the answer was yes. How very undemocratic of the powers that be not to include Councillors in these decisions, after all these are the people we voted in to represent us & safeguard our best interests. I will be watching with interest as to what they do with Bodlondeb, as I'm sure many others will. Also there is to be staff redundancies but they prefer not to offer voluntary packages as some of the older staff members reaching retirement age could take them up & that could be costly. It looks as if they have been working for some time at plugging that black hole.

[SteveH]

Senedd offices in North Wales to close in cost cutting measure slammed by local MS
Senedd Commissioner Ken Skates MS confirmed the intention to close the Senedd offices in Colwyn Bay

Senedd offices in North Wales are marked for closure in a move slammed by the local member who says he wasn't consulted. Senedd Commissioner Ken Skates MS confirmed the intention to close the offices in Colwyn Bay - with staff relocated to the Welsh Government offices in Llandudno Junction.

Clwyd West MS Darren Millar said he had not been consulted on the proposals which were announced publicly during a debate this week on the Senedd Commission budget. The commission is the corporate body for the Welsh Parliament (Senedd).

The commission said co-locating offices with other public-sector organisations will provide "significant savings" and were consulting the cross-party Senedd Commissioners and discussions are ongoing. Senedd Commissioners are a cross party group who are responsible for providing the Senedd with the staff and resources they need to carry out their roles effectively.

MS Mr Millar said: "I am outraged by this decision which will leave a huge void in Colwyn Bay and add to the already existing confusion between the Senedd and the Welsh Government. There was no consultation with me as the local elected Member whose constituency is directly affected by the change prior to the decision being made.

?This is a big move and should have involved proper consultation, the lack of engagement is quite frankly appalling. I made the Senedd Commissioner aware of my strong objections and disappointment in the Chamber yesterday and will be taking it up further.?

cont https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/senedd-offices-north-wales-close-25610192?IYA-reg=49560bcd-5a9c-47f0-8fc5-ba2e71710589

[SteveH]

Council tax premium set to hit 100% for second homes and empty properties in Conwy county
Funds will be used to tackle homelessness in the county

Conwy?s cabinet has agreed to increase council tax premiums to 100% for the owners of second homes and empty properties from 2024. The final decision will be made at a council meeting on December 8, but if the increase gets the go-ahead, the money generated will be used to tackle the county?s homelessness problem.

Since April 2017 authorities in Wales have had the discretion to charge council tax premiums on long-term empty and second homes. But many councils have been reluctant to do this due to a loophole that allowed second homeowners to register the property as a business instead ? avoiding council tax altogether.

cont https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/council-tax-premium-set-hit-25607923

[SteveH]

A COUNCIL?S contact centres and phone lines are not up to scratch,  leaving customers angry and frustrated, a concerned councillor claims.

This week Conwy Council?s financial resources overview and scrutiny committee met to debate the council?s digital strategy report.

The report included details of how council technology will evolve until 2027.

The committee members backed the report, but one concerned councillor slammed Conwy?s contact centres where council customer service staff respond to enquiries by taking telephone calls or via an online chat service.

cont https://www.northwalespioneer.co.uk/news/23186020.conwy-council-customer-service-slammed/

[SteveH]

COUNCILLORS decided the level of Council Tax Premium on second homes and long term empty homes in Conwy County for 2023/24 at a meeting last week (December .

The premium is designed to encourage owners to bring empty properties into use and support the increase of affordable housing for purchase or let in local communities.

At the meeting of full Council it was decided to charge a 50 per cent Council Tax Premium for both second homes and long term empty homes from April 2023.

The meeting also agreed an indicative level of 100 per cent premium on both long term empty homes and second homes from 1st April 2024 (subject to review during 2023/2024).

cont https://www.northwalespioneer.co.uk/news/23190074.council-tax-premium-second-homes-long-term-empty-homes/?ref=rss&IYA-reg=49560bcd-5a9c-47f0-8fc5-ba2e71710589

[SteveH]

CONWY County Borough Council has awarded over ?80,000 to help stock recognised foodbanks across the county in time for Christmas.

The Council received funding from Welsh Government to support food poverty during the cost of living crisis.

The funding allows the foodbanks to continue producing food parcels for residents within the county who are eligible for foodbank support.

Foodbanks in Llanfairfechan, Conwy, Llandudno, Colwyn Bay and Abergele have had their stocks replenished thanks to this financial support.

Funds were allocated according to the amount of food each food bank distributed.

cont https://www.northwalespioneer.co.uk/news/23206667.financial-support-foodbanks-across-conwy-county/

[SteveH]

Council defends 33 per cent staff occupancy of offices

A FREEDOM of Information Request has disclosed that Conwy County Borough Council staff occupancy figures for its Bodlondeb and Coed Pella bases reached a peak of less than 40 per cent for two weeks in October.

Out of 958 possible occupancies across the two sites, the highest peak number of staff was Tuesday, 18 October.

On this day, 363 members of staff were working within the offices, the equivalent of 38 per cent.

At the new Coed Pella building in Colwyn Bay, which costs around ?1.45million a year in rent, the peak occupancy was 36.25 per cent out of a possible 720 staff members, with a maximum 261 members of staff present in the building on Tuesday, 18 October.

Commenting on the lack of use of the Local Authority?s flagship buildings, Mrs Finch-Saunders said: ?Covid regulations have long finished, and as such there is no legal requirement to work from home.

Conwy County Borough Council said ...........cont..........
 https://www.northwalespioneer.co.uk/news/23233470.council-defends-33-per-cent-staff-occupancy-offices/?ref=rss&IYA-reg=49560bcd-5a9c-47f0-8fc5-ba2e71710589

[Ian]

Commenting on the lack of use of the Local Authority?s flagship buildings, Mrs Finch-Saunders said: ?Covid regulations have long finished,

The poorly thought-out and often ignored regulations have, in fact, not been repealed, and if the work can be done just as well from home as in work, then one has to wonder what the problem really is.

[SteveH]

Commenting on the lack of use of the Local Authority?s flagship buildings, Mrs Finch-Saunders said: ?Covid regulations have long finished,

The poorly thought-out and often ignored regulations have, in fact, not been repealed, and if the work can be done just as well from home as in work, then one has to wonder what the problem really is.

My objection is the lack of foresight on behalf of the CCBC, and the usual incompetent practice of spending tax money wastefully.   

[SteveH]

CONWY County Borough Council has produced a Draft Housing Support Programme Strategy and is asking for feedback.

The strategy sets out how the Council will support vulnerable people at risk of, or experiencing, homelessness to help them keep their home or find suitable accommodation.

The vision for the programme is taking a proactive approach to the early intervention and prevention of homelessness.

Where homelessness can?t be prevented, it will help make sure that support and/or accommodation is available.

The actions in the programme are funded though the Welsh Government?s Housing Support Grant.

This grant aims to provide a better quality of life for vulnerable people by supporting them to access and keep a stable and suitable home and live independently.

The strategy runs until 2026 and shows the work in the context of the Council?s other housing initiatives, like the recently approved Rapid Rehousing Transition Plan, together with work with partner organisations.

The Council is inviting comments on the strategy at www.conwy.gov.uk.