Dear Bellman
In all my attempts at trying to establish why the Council seems to be so keen on moving our Stonehaven library to Viewmount, the one constant is the oft-quoted figure of £285,531, the apparent cost of making the existing building fit for purpose. A sum the Council simply does not have. As they keep repeating.
I have so far been unable to discover the exact nature of the work needed and why it costs so much but I live in hope that answers will be provided soon.
I had thought that the Council had only recently been made aware of the need for this work to be undertaken and was therefore very surprised to find that the condition survey work on which it was based was actually carried out in 2019, almost seven years ago.
Imagine how much less it would have cost then and how much more the building would have deteriorated further in the meantime. But of course the Council had no money for essential repairs in 2019 or 2020 or 2021 … Yet in the same period the Council is reputed to have spent £1,000,000 (Yes, £1,000,000) on supplying straps to secure the lids of our many Wheelie bins. A bungee cord from Nickle and Dime will do the same job for £1.99. I know what I would have preferred my Council rates to have been spent on.
Yours etc
Kirby Porter