I THANK Cllr Farbahi for responding to my challenge to those opposing Taunton Deane Borough Council’s merger with West Somerset Council to detail how they would find the expected annual savings of £3.1m (Postbag, November 17).

Regretfully, his suggestions are riddled with inaccuracies and a surprising lack of commercial knowledge and, once again, show that he and Lib Dem colleagues value short-term political point scoring above a long-term plan and progress for our community.

I do not deny that the merger is a big and important step for our council and for our community, but we are taking it on the basis of a sound business case that has been reviewed by outside parties and a democratic process.

The projected £3.1m savings are absolutely achieveable. In the face of a difficult economic environment and cuts to local government funding we already have an enviable record in this area.

Three years ago we projected annual savings of £1.8m from running our two councils with one management team.

This has been delivered, with minimal cuts to services and some significant investments, such as our superb new swimming pool at Blackbrook, re-opening the Brewhouse and improving the ever-popular Longrun Meadow.

Regarding the other points/suggestions from Cllr Farbahi:

  • TDBC does indeed have land and building assets of £65m. These comprise parks and recreational facilities as well as car parks, Council offices etc. Properties that can be let for commercial return are a small proportion and are actually providing a yield of 6.2 per cent. Mr Farbahi’s figure of 0.9 per cent is deliberately disingenuous; or perhaps he is suggesting that we charge an entrance fee to Vivary Park or Wellington Park or for kids to kick a football on a playing field?
  • DLO’s relocation to Wellington allowed them to move from a large and sub-par site which required investment to more suitable facilities. TDBC will receive a significant capital receipt from the site’s sale and it will be redeveloped for use by a major business that is expanding to secure its long-term future in Taunton. The private sector contract mentioned saves us £50,000 annually. Both were the right commercial decisions for our community.
  • The closure of Castle Green car park has given us first class public space in the centre of town that can be used for a variety of events. It also assisted with securing the significant grant funding that has enabled the development of our world-class Somerset Museum. As Mr Farbahi knows, the closure has had no impact on TDBC parking revenue.
  • Facilitating investment from the private sector and supporting business growth is a key job of the council. But it is not in our gift to invest ourselves in some of the areas recommended by Cllr Farbahi, for example, health R&D and agriculture. And where is he suggesting we find this ‘investment’ money from when he objects to the savings opportunities we have identified?

As a leadership group our focus is on planning and investing for the future. Having a long-term plan that secures savings, boosts investment and makes the most of the assets that we have, is the right thing to do if we are to continue to successfully support the communities that we serve.

JOHN WILLIAMS
Leader Conservative Group, Taunton Deane Borough Council