Knowle relocation project: District Council rejects motion "for the ongoing costs to be published to show confidence that this project will breakeven"

Not only has the District Council refused to allow the debating of motions on how to deal with climate change:
Futures Forum: District Council rejects considering motion "to recognise that Climate Change and Global Warming are the key issues of our time, to acknowledge the strong concerns of young people and for the council to commit to introducing a policy of carbon measurement and reduction"

But it has also refused to consider a motion on the costs of its relocation project, as reported in Devon Live: 

Relocation cost motion rejected from being discussed

Various motions that councillors had put forward for debate at East Devon District Council’s full council meeting on Wednesday, February, were rejected by the council’s chief executive

By Daniel Clark Local Democracy Reporter
18 FEB 2019

Motions to support recycling, to call for a new property ombudsman to streamline complaints against shoddy builders, and for East Devon to get its fair share of the police precept rise will be discussed at next Wednesday’s full council meeting.

But motions over the full relocation costs of the move from Sidmouth to Honiton, to put electric charging points in all car parks, what to prioritise in a ‘No Deal’ Brexit and on climate change will not be discussed.

Various motions that councillors had put forward for debate at East Devon District Council’s full council meeting on Wednesday, February, were rejected by the council’s chief executive, as either the agenda already provides the opportunity for debate or the wording of the motions were inaccurate.

RELOCATION

Cllr Cathy Gardner had proposed a motion calling for the council to commit to publish an annual ‘summary of accounts’ for the relocation project until break-even is reached as relocation from Sidmouth to Honiton was proposed and predicated on the basis that the project would breakeven within 20 years and deliver cost-savings to the council tax payers of East Devon.

Cllr Gardner said: “Whilst some of this information is already available we feel it is vital for the ongoing costs to be published to show confidence that this project will breakeven. A majority of Councillors voted for relocation on the basis that money would be saved on energy bills. We are left unsure of whether breakeven will ever be proven.”

But an EDDC spokesman said: “The rejected motion contained inaccuracies and omissions that had the potential to mislead councillors and it was also premature. It is however proposed to bring a report to the next meeting of the Cabinet that will summarise the position reached with regard to the sale of the Knowle and the relocation. Cllr Gardner can raise the matters she is concerned about as part of the debate into that report.”

The motion would have called for the accounts to include

• energy costs for the Knowle for the past 20 years (for comparison);
• energy costs for both Blackdown House and Exmouth Town Hall per year;
• the capital receipt for the sale of the Knowle;
• a Red Book valuation of Blackdown House as of 1 March 2019;
• the full costs for the relocation project since its inception, including: project management; removal, furnishing and equipment; staff retraining and travel expenses; new-build costs for Blackdown House; refurbishment costs for Exmouth Town Hall; and any other associated costs.”

Relocation cost, No Deal Brexit, electric charging points and climate change motions rejected from being discussed - Devon Live 

And those costs are very much open to debate - still:
Futures Forum: Knowle relocation project: challenging the official line that "staying in Sidmouth was not an option"
Futures Forum: Knowle relocation project: financial profligacy in a time of austerity
Futures Forum: Knowle relocation project: fantasy 'cost savings over twenty years' are of no interest to people in East Devon

Here's a summary:
Futures Forum: Knowle relocation project: a summary of the issues

And a summary of the summary:
Futures Forum: Knowle relocation project: ready to move, but at what cost...
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