Forum Topic

The New Lampton Conference Centre will be costing ???

Do you remember the publicity last year about plans for a new banqueting hall etc etc to be built next door to the Civic Centre..at no cost to us..(I recall) as the money ..£2,000,000.... was coming from the Key Site One developers.There was that strange claim that larger facilities were needed in the locality to host extra large family weddings and the like.Today,the Hounslow Civic Centre website states that the plans have proceeded successfully through another planning process. There is a photo of Mr and Mrs Keen ..with Cllr Ellars and a model of the new plan.  However the text states that the cost of the Centre will now only be  "more than half met" by the developers!! So can we really afford it if the Community Charge also needs to up by 9%+ to cover next years budget...notwithstanding this extension to the Civic Centre.

Jim Lawes ● 7455d6 Comments

The Hounslow Civic Centre webcast is a valuable tool in that it enables us to look and see Meetings either live or after the event.The Overview and Scutiny Committee meeting on 24th January is now available to see..and you can hear and see Cllr Ellar describe the new building as a COMMUNITY CENTRE. He says that when the developers have spent a certain sum building Keysite One...(believed to be £5million or £6million) (by say next November)...they will then start spending up to £2 million on the new Community Centre. Costs over £2million will be bourne by the Council.How much over £2,000,000 ..who knows. Another £2 million? Its a colossal sum of money. 40,000 x £50 notes!! Not once during the meeting..that I was able to see..was Chiswick mentioned. It was all spend ,spend, spend in Feltham,Hounslow and Heston.

Jim Lawes ● 7450d

Why not indeed - I am not and never have been convinced that this centre will serve ALL sections of the community, and I think your point about  existing facilities is a very good one. Knowing how much it costs to hire a council hall at the moment the mind boggles at what the hire cost of this new one will be!

Vanessa Smith ● 7453d

VanessaMaybe the simple answer should be that if Hounslow Council supports this application so much, and advises us that the developers are so keen to part fund it, then why not put the proposal out under a private finance initiative?

Gareth Evans ● 7453d

John Before even considering this proposal, shouldn't the council issue a statement giving its unequivocal commitment to maintaining its existing community centres and leisure facilities?

Gareth Evans ● 7453d

Vanessa,You and I have disagreed over the proposal for a community hall in Central Hounslow for a number of years.However, it has been a commitment to local residents since the Key Site 1 proposals were first aired in the late 1980's. The proposal to locate the community hall at the Civic Centre originated in  a motion tabled by me to the Labour Group about 2 years ago.Unfortunately, the Council leadership apparently took fright at the suggestion that the facility be use for Asian weddings and renamed it the Lampton Conference Centre. As the specification suggests what is being built is a large hall with a relatively low roof and extensive kitchen facilities, making it unlikely that there will be any demand for large conferences.I believe a decent sized hall capable of meeting the needs of most wedding parties as well as enabling annual awards ceremonies such as the Duke of Edinburgh awards to be held on a single evening could have been built witin the budget available if the leadership had not dragged their heals over the matter and if they had stood their ground against those members who insisted on making the hall much bigger than anything else in the area.Final point - there is supposed to be a business plan for the venue. I have not seen it and it may not be in the public arena. My big fear is that if this is unrealistic we could be creating a major drain on our revenue budget.

John Connelly ● 7454d

It's all cobblers designed to placate certain members of the Labour Group, thereby ensuring their votes, and there is no way that developers will be coughing up anything like we are being told. Should we be surprised that this "proceeded successfully through the planning process"? I think not.

Vanessa Smith ● 7455d