IN 2014, Taunton Deane Council announced they would move into County Hall, to eliminate the waste and duplication inherent in running two underutilised offices in the same town and to end the anomaly that Taunton is the only town in Somerset where this wasteful duplication still takes place.
Now, in 2017, Taunton Deane Borough Council is to “invest” (spend) £7.5 million on “revamping” Deane House, less than two kilometres from County Hall, which has plenty of unused space and has already been “revamped” (including a £4m investment in IT) making County Hall a fully-serviced office ready to go.
Social care for the elderly is in national crisis and that has severely impacted on our hospitals this winter.
As a stop gap, the Government has allowed for a two per cent Council Tax increases to provide some additional funding.
This two per cent Council Tax increase will, across Somerset, raise £3.8m towards elderly social care.
Why should Somerset Council taxpayers make a contribution towards elderly social care in increased Council Tax when Taunton Deane Borough Council is wasting twice that levy parochially keeping two underutilised offices in the same town?
I have written to our MP Rebecca Pow asking her to step in as both councils are Conservative-run.
DAVID ORR
Taunton
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