Shropshire Council accused of wasting money

A council has been accused of wasting money after it was revealed it was renting offices for workers a few miles away from its headquarters.

Shropshire Council is leasing offices on Shrewsbury Business Park for about 100 staff, not far from its Shirehall headquarters in Shrewsbury.

Liberal Democrat Charlotte Barnes said the staff could work out of Shirehall.

But the Conservative-run council said Shirehall could not accommodate all of the staff.

The 100 staff who have desks at Jupiter House on Shrewsbury Business Park work for the council and IP&E, a private company owned by the council.

The council pays £70,000 a year to rent the office space, which is 1.8 miles (2.8km) away from Shirehall.

However, Mrs Barnes said Shirehall had plenty of room for extra staff.

"We are working really hard to make all these savings, cuts people are finding really difficult to bear, and yet we are giving council money away when we have buildings we could house these people in," she said.

"When you go into Shirehall, it's deathly quiet. You don't see the amounts of people you used to.

"Is it sensible to have the council-owned company giving money to an outside body at this time?

"I would have thought it better to invest the income raised by IP&E in a building owned by Shropshire Council."

In 2014, Shropshire Council said it would consider selling Shirehall to help save £80m.

The council said the building was in need of repair.

Steve Charmley, deputy leader, said: "It is not possible to contain all staff in Shirehall, whether employed through the council or IP&E.

"From time to time, it is therefore necessary to supplement this accommodation with a number of leased properties in the locality, where appropriate."