Croydon’s Labour opposition is currently distributing a newspaper which claims that each tax payer will have to pay £1,115 to build the Council a ‘luxury HQ’.
It’s complete rubbish. It is true that we are planning to replace Taberner House with a new Public Services’ Delivery Hub nearby, but it will cost the tax payer nothing.
The cost of it is being met from the profits of developing a number of council-owned vacant sites, which will also kick-start the regeneration of the town centre. We are borrowing the money to build the new hub, but that is being funded by the receipts from the other developments.
Of course, in the run-up to an election it is very easy for the opposition to mislead people and say “Council is borrowing £x million for new offices - that’s £y per household on your Council Tax”. It’s this kind of scaremongering that puts people off politics.
If you want to check who is telling you the truth, then when Labour knocks on your door during the election, ask them to show you the page in the Council’s revenue budget where this cost appears. They won’t be able to. Or wait until you get your Council Tax bill and see if it has gone up by £1,115. It won’t have, because it’s the smallest increase since Council Tax was introduced, at 0.8%.
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