Wirral Liberal Democrat leader defend radical culture plans

Nov 28 2008 By Matt Hurst

Simon Holbrook

LIBERAL Democrat leader and deputy leader of Wirral council, Cllr Simon Holbrook has hit back at critics of the council’s strategic review into its leisure and cultural services.
 

Cllr Holbrook said: “We have to face the reality of the Council’s aging property estate.
 

“But rather than seeing it as a problem we ask people to see the opportunities it offers to shape the future of Council services in Wirral.
 

“There is the opportunity of the 20m capital investment.
 

“The council will carry out intensive and detailed consultation about how it spends this money, giving the public the opportunity to get in at the design stage to help shape the way the new and improved services will be delivered.
 

“There is the opportunity from community ownership of assets.  Ownership can give real financial stability to community groups and assist them in accessing sources of money such as The Lottery Fund, and provide local people with the opportunity to get involved in the running of community facilities that meet real local need.
 

“There is the opportunity to develop high-quality state of the art facilities that will be sustainable in the long term.
 

“Engaging with other parts of the public sector in Wirral also provides opportunities for locating services in shared facilities at locations that are convenient for the public, and by sharing the costs of those facilities, deliver value for money to the council tax payer.  
 

“And value for money will help deliver a sustainable budget that will enable Wirral to invest further.”