That masterpiece of science fiction, The War of the Worlds, was written in Maybury, a pleasant village in the Borough of Woking. Set in the 1890s, HG Wells tells of an invasion by creatures from Mars who land with a bang on the green and set about killing everyone.
The tradition is alive and well, except for the massacres, and this week Woking Borough Council went bang with debts of almost £2 billion and absolutely no hope of repaying them for years…or ever… whichever comes first.
The council raises £14 million from its Community charge. So who would lend anyone almost than 100 times their basic budget? Yep, its Muggins here again. This time in the form of an obscure body called the Public Works Loan Board – long way round, the Treasury (you and me). They are owed £1.8 billion of the £1.9 billion.
Now Woking is the most indebted local authority in the UK.
Woking is the most indebted local authority in the UK but it had had grand ambitions. It was to become the Singapore of the UK, with three skyscrapers (well, cloud scrapers) and a brand-new shopping center.
To help achieve this vision, it tied up with a private developer which itself now has a number of its companies in administration with debts of almost £200 million to the Bank of Ireland (nothing to do with me).
This playing with public money is not limited to Tory-run councils. Labour-run Slough are also in the merde as is Thurrock. Next door, uncontrollable and No-Overall-Control Spelthorne is on the edge.
Until 2022, Woking Council was run by the Conservatives who took an almighty drubbing from the Liberal Democrats last year – who are now trying to clear up the mess. Good luck with that. The long-standing former Chief Executive of the Council, Ray Morgan, retired.
So Mr Gove send in three heavies in the form of Mervyn Greer from Kier, Carol Culley, Deputy Chief Executive of Manchester and Jim Taylor who has run councils. This week they reported and it makes frightening reading. Get a cup of strong cocoa and read it here.
As the report says, the council was not capable of running a commercial property enterprise and probably never will be. It needs to hire some sharks from the private sector. Form an orderly queue.
But the Tories, after 14 years of rule, are unrepentant. Simon Ashall, the former Deputy Leader told The Guardian: I think £1.8bn of benefit will accrue to Woking – perhaps not in the next 18 months, but over the course of the next 50 years? Absolutely.”
HG Wells wrote another great sci-fi novel called The Time Machine. Perhaps the new administration in Woking need to invest in one.
Have a good week.
Tom
by the Planning PR guru 