Background: Falkirk Council have since 2013 been debating where to locate a new Council’s HQ and Civic Facilities. The current Municipal Buildings have been condemned on safety grounds. The adjacent Town Hall is inefficient to operate and is widely accepted as no longer fit for purpose.

A new combined HQ and Town Hall would provide more modern and cost-effective offices plus larger and more flexible spaces that could be used for meetings, community events, arts, culture, and conferences. Creating the new facilities would allow a significant increase in capacity, better and more successful events programming and increased income. The new building would additionally incorporate a modern Library and Central Advice Hub. It offers a better and more accessible location for Falkirk residents and visitors whilst supporting the daytime and evening economy in the town centre.

In February 2019, Councillors of all parties agreed to set aside £45m of capital budget to fund the replacement of the HQ and Civic Facilities in Falkirk’s traditional town centre. None of this money can be used for Council services such as social care, roads, or education which are funded from the revenue budget. Locating the new HQ and Civic Facilities in Falkirk’s traditional town centre, means the project also attracts between £8m and £10m of investment grant funding. This money will be lost if the project is located elsewhere.

The Opportunity: The unsightly, vacant buildings at the west of the High St create a terrible first impression of our town to anyone arriving via West Bridge St. After an extensive search, this site was identified as the best town centre location for a new environmentally sustainable HQ and Civic Facilities building.

A cross-party decision was reached by Falkirk Council in June 2021 to proceed with more detailed preparations for delivery of the new building on this site.

By regenerating this end of the High St with a modern building, new life can be breathed into the traditional town centre, helping to kick-start even greater private sector investment in both the town centre and across the wider Falkirk area.

This would offer greater job security for hundreds of staff from across Falkirk who work in the town centre. More jobs will also be created as the town centre is developed and diversified. Centralising facilities into one building on the High St makes it accessible for all members of the community. It will reduce carbon emissions and ongoing running costs - delivering longer term savings to the Council budget and therefore to local taxpayers.

The Issue: In September 2021, the ‘cross-party’ decision that was taken in June 2021 to proceed with the High Street / Cockburn Street site was reversed by a combination of mainly Labour and Conservative Councillor votes - citing concerns over parking. The Council’s own consultants demonstrated that more than enough car parking is available throughout the town centre, and indicated that accessible / special needs parking would be included at the development itself, but this information was ignored.

As a result: a significant number of existing town centre jobs and businesses are at risk due to uncertainty about the Council’s intentions. In addition, the placemaking regeneration benefits to the town centre risk being lost. The September 2021 decision also means that Falkirk stands to lose out on between £8m and £10m of investment grant funding towards the cost of creating the new HQ and Civic Facilities in the town centre.

The change of mind by Labour and Conservative Councillors between June and September 2021 means that Falkirk District taxpayers are now expected to pay £600,000 towards design and feasibility costs. This money could otherwise have been capitalised (off-set as part of development costs if the project went ahead) rather than having to be paid for now by taxpayers.

Between 2013 and 2021, Falkirk Council have spent more than £1.8m of abortive design / feasibility costs and wasted valuable resources dithering. Taxpayers’ money has been wasted because several Councillors have repeatedly changed their minds and failed to honour agreements.

Please sign our petition. 

We call upon all Falkirk Councillors to honour their commitment to locate the new HQ and Civic Facilities within Falkirk’s traditional town centre and urgent steps should be taken to re-start delivery of this project.