Concerns have been raised over North Herts Council's purchase of Churchgate shopping centre - which "could turn the authority into another Croydon”.
At a meeting on Thursday, February 23, Conservative councillors said they do not want North Herts Council to become “another Croydon” after the authority bought Hitchin Churchgate for £3.75million in 2022.
Croydon Council declared itself effectively bankrupt in November 2020 because it could not balance its budget, and will be allowed to hike its council tax by an extraordinary 15 per cent in April this year.
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The Labour-Lib Dem administration in North Herts insisted it is developing “a plan” for Hitchin Churchgate, despite fears the exact amount required is “very uncertain”, according to a council report.
The report notes the council is set to rake in £84,000 from the centre in 2023/24, which will partially contribute towards the authority’s day-to-day budget.
Leader of the North Herts Council Conservative Group Councillor Clare Strong said: “You’ve not put any money down in your budget [for Churchgate]. It’s just going to be a sort-of ‘wait and see’.
“I do hope that if it’s going to be a ‘wait and see’ project at Churchgate, it’s not going to turn into something that’s going on in Croydon.”
Cllr Ralph Muncer added: “I’m frankly quite shocked not to see any money set aside for this project which is going to be in the tens of millions of pounds.”
The total amount which North Herts Council spent on Hitchin Churchgate shopping centre in 2022/23 was £4.21m, according to a budget report.
The council intended to “regenerate” the town centre site when it was acquired, and a consultation on Churchgate’s future closed on February 6.
The authority will use some of its £84,000 net income from the centre to seek “necessary professional advice via consultants, architects, quantity surveyors”, the report notes.
“It is estimated that the final funding could be around £750,000 by the end of 2025/26,” it reads.
Council leader Elizabeth Dennis-Harburg said: “We keep hearing there’s no plan for Churchgate.
“The opposition knows there is a plan for Churchgate.
“We’re working with our communities and we are co-designing a facility which is going to sit in the centre of this district and will be a key economic linchpin to deliver a real benefit across the entirety of North Herts.”
Labour Councillor Ian Albert, who is responsible for finance at North Herts Council, told the February 23 meeting: “We want to work cross-party both in this room and with our residents to actually get a plan for Churchgate, whatever that plan might be."
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