We need your help to continue the opposition to the civic complex project. Your attendance at just two meetings will make councillors very uncomfortable. The external auditor has delayed its opinion on whether the council has received “Value for Money” in providing our services (do you think it might be because they spent £4m before asking Hoopers if it was OK to use its car park?), Historic England would prefer the council to stay in the existing buildings (hands up if you agree!) and the Public Accounts Committee is alarmed by local councils speculating with our money. And yet, despite all this, the thousands of you who signed our petition and sacksful of letters to the local press the council still wants to carry on with its ill-conceived project. Councillors will be given the final set of reports this month. It’s important that your opposition to the project is at the front of their minds when they read the reports. There’s no better way to demonstrate your opposition than by attending the final two Full Council meetings on the project. Meeting #1: Wednesday 27 September, 6:30pm in the Town Hall – Full Council debate Meeting #2: Wednesday 6 December, 6:30pm in the Town Hall – Full Council debate Meeting #1 will discuss the Crescent Road car park extension. This is civic complex approval by stealth. By building this extension the council will be freed up to build on the Great Hall car park. We mustn’t let them get away with this. And at £33k per space do you think it’s good value for your money? This is a badly thought out project. But the good news is that councillors are prepared to listen. Two councillors have self-funded a “referendum” of their constituents (hat tips to Cllrs Simmons and Williams) and many others are concerned about the finances (perhaps this is due to the huge black hole the project puts in the council’s budget!). Councillors are too comfortable. Comfort begets complacency begets bad policy-making. Your attendance at the meetings will make them uncomfortable. Please come.