Tonight  (10/9/09) the Planning Committee has the new HQ that the Tory Council have been pressing ahead with before it.

This is despite spending £2million on the new reception at Taberner House, the existing HQ and spending £10million refurbishing Taberner House HQ in recent years.

The Tory Council even had the cheek to run a consultative exhibition that had more council staff answering the questionnaire than members of the public!

Labour is opposed to spending so much money on this development. We think it would be better to invest in better public services, better recycling, new swimming pools, improving the town for existing residents.

The Tories say one thing and do another

Over the last three years the Tory Councillors have complained that the Labour Government does not give Croydon enough cash grant each year to run services. At the same time the Tory Council has been spending millions on this new Luxury HQ. HOW ODD?

NO prize will be handed out for guessing how the Tory Councillors on the planning committee will vote!

CCURV ?

Croydon Council Urban Regeneration Vehicle - this is a 'joint' company set up with the developer / builder 'Laing' This 'joint' company is the applicant to build the Luxury HQ.

Why is the Council using a 'joint' company? It hands 100% of the developer profit to the 'joint' company and then gets paid its half share by the 'joint' company.

Laing gets half the developer profit AND the profit from the building works. The only contractor that the CCURV will be using is Laing.

Too much of this contract is shrouded in secrecy and 'commercial confidentiality'

Want to see for yourself? You could have watched the web cast of the meeting, but the Tory Council shut that down, so you will have to turn up in person at Croydon Town Hall at 6.30pm tonight.

The Planning Committee Papers