CIVIC leaders in West Somerset have set themselves a two-month target to come up with a new scheme to centralise their offices following the collapse of plans for a controversial development in Minehead. Somerset County Council's decision to pull the plug on a partnership deal to deliver a new library, civic centre and speculative business units on the market/railway site has left West Somerset District Council searching for an alternative. And after hearing pleas for restraint and a breathing space on future plans from opponents of the scheme at a meeting of the cabinet on Monday, council leader Cllr Steven Pugsley insisted that the authority was not "rushing in on the rebound". He outlined plans for possible special council meetings, a public meeting and a seminar at which councillors would thrash out alternative plans, with the hope that the situation would be clearer by August 10. And he stated that nothing would be ruled out - even the suggestion that the centralised offices could be delivered on the council's existing Williton site. Cllr Pugsley said a lot of work had already been done on a "fall-back" position and the council needed to see if it was viable or desirable. Although the council has yet to reveal which alternative sites are under consideration, the feasibility of building on land on which the Aquasplash leisure centre stands is being looked at. The council had previously agreed that if the market/railway site failed, it would build its offices on the Vulcan Road car park. However, the prospect of releasing millions of pounds by selling the land for retail development has sparked a reluctance among some councillors and officers to pursue the previous resolution. But a question mark still hangs over the evidence which would prove the need for a supermarket on the site after consultants Donaldsons failed to include Minehead's Tesco store in their original calculations. Cllr Pugsley told the cabinet meeting that Donaldsons' reworked figures were currently being verified by the University of Plymouth and would then need to be considered very carefully. "We don't want to be in the position of making the same mistake again," he said. But he said he was anxious not to let too much time elapse and hoped the results of the initial feasibility work on new sites for the centralised offices would be available by June 20 or 27. He said a special meeting of the full council may have to be called and, if councillors believed there was something that could be progressed, a public meeting would be held in a hall the size of that at the West Somerset Community College. This would give as many people who wanted the chance to have a proper discussion with the elected members of the authority. A further council meeting could be held on August 10 to "draw the strands" together of any possible scheme. Cllr Pugsley said this would give a two-month timeframe for discussion and debate, the chance for members of the public to influence decisions and the opportunity for everyone to feel ownership of whatever was proposed. "This is neither rushing into things nor dragging our feet." Deputy leader Cllr Bryan Leaker said the council now had an opportunity to work closer with opponents of the original scheme and others to reach a "win-win situation" and the right conclusion for Minehead and West Somerset. Cllr Keith Ross, who recently resigned from the cabinet over the development of the key sites area, welcomed the decision to hold a seminar - a suggestion he made in a letter he sent to all councillors this week in which he highlighted the loss of the council's credibility within the local community. "I have been frankly ashamed to be a member of this authority with what has been going on over the last six months and the latest goings on are beyond the pale," said Cllr Ross. He insisted Williton was the best and most cost- effective location for the centralised offices and also highlighted, along with Cllr David Gliddon, the council's failure to market the Vulcan Road site for anything other than retail. Cllr Gliddon said the authority had taken out just a quarter page advert in a property and estates journal, spending no more than £600 to market a land worth an estimated £6 million. "That is what you would spend to market a semi- detached house in Watchet and is not the way to promote a vitally important site. "Minehead was hardly mentioned in the advert and there was no mention of the site's seafront position, of its proximity to the railway - just the opportunity for retail. "I'd like to see it advertised properly for tourist- related purposes. "It was no way to promote this jewel." Cllr Gliddon said circumstances had changed since the decision to centralise the offices in Minehead, where the land was more valuable. Land values in Williton, where the potential for tourism or industry was minimal, were far less. Cllr Simon Stokes said he had serious concerns about the timeframe for a revised scheme to be brought forward and said councillors should be prepared to stay at a seminar for as long as it took to reach a conclusion. "This is a crucial time when we should be standing back and having a proper look at things. "Just because we have the chance of European funding, we should not let that dictate what we do. "If we need three or four months, then we should be prepared for that. We should not just chase money for money's sake." Cllr Stokes said councillors had still not seen the revised and verified Donaldsons report and urged that it should be in the public domain long enough for everyone to have the opportunity to scrutinise it. He said Jessica Griffith of the action group DIRECT - who spotted the Tesco omission - had done the council a huge favour and prevented it spending more money getting things wrong. Cllr Pugsley pledged that the council would take "as long as it takes" to come up with a new scheme. "But we are not starting from scratch. We have had hundreds of thousands of hours of debate on this issue and lots of reports. "We are not back to square one - we are starting from a particular point. "If we need to take a week of seminars than that is what we will do."
