Falkirk Town Hall could close its doors for good after this year's pantomime run as a proposal to refurbish it would cost millions while the building would still not be fit for purpose.
That's the verdict of a report going to a meeting of Falkirk Council next Wednesday, containing proposals it is hoped will win support after years of stalemate between political parties locally.
A year ago, opposition councillors rejected SNP proposals for a new HQ and arts centre in Falkirk High Street and instead instructed officials to look at building a new standalone office on the old Westbank Clinic site and refurbishing the existing FTH. Read more: Plea for Falkirk people to help care for teenagers seeking asylum in the UK The report spells out the huge complexities - and massive costs - of keeping FTH where it is, making clear that it will cost millions to be left with a building that would still not be fit for purpose.It also firmly rejects the option to build a stand-alone office on the site of the old Westbank Clinic, beside the current town hall.Malcolm Bennie, Falkirk Council's Director of Place Services, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "The assessments that we've done show that to build the new office would be approximately £33 million."You'd also be looking at £2.3 million to disentangle the existing Falkirk Town Hall from the municipal buildings and then you'd need to spend around about £4 million doing necessary repairs."And at the end of all that investment you would still have a building that was not fit for purpose for modern productions and you would still have a building that did not get anywhere close to being net zero."It's the view of officers that that does not represent good value for money."The
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