In the early days of the last local government reorganisation, it was Flintshire council which seemed to find itself in the pages of Private Eye, under the Rotten Boroughs column. 19 years later, it became Denbighshire's turn, though not under Rotten Boroughs. On the £16.9mil deal to exit Rhuthun/Ruthin's county hall private finance initiative—compared to the initial £12.1mil costs to build—with its tongue firmly in its cheek, Private Eye called the plan "genius". Subsequently, the headline in the Free Press read, "Council ridiculed for £16.9mil buyout deal".
Private Eye's comments seem to be about the wisdom of PFIs in general rather than DCC. After all, the Rhuthun story was under the "PF Eye" column.
Needless to say, the county council had to justify things with several column inches in the Free Press. Who was right? Private Eye or the council? What neither seemed to say was that in 2004, when county hall was completed, if you didn't use a PFI you couldn't build anything. Back then, PFIs were the flavour of the month. Hospitals, schools and just about any public building were all financed in this way. For example, Conwy council went all-out to build brand new PFI schools.
I wonder whether PFIs could be likened to leasing over capital purchase. Under leasing, your annual contribution is manageable even though you pay more in total.
And I wonder without PFI whether Denbighshire's head office would have remained in Rhuthun. The whole building was time-expired and basically worn out. Older readers will recall Glyndŵr's two-storey portacabins and Clwyd social service's wooden-clad single storey temporary sheds. Plans from 1988 to replace the lot had come to nought and the whole site, main building and outliers, was deteriorating. Even the chief executive's suite leaked (as in the ingress of rainwater, rather than the revelation or disclosure of documents, though who knows!). Denbighshire tried to unlock land to build and this included the sale of its Smithfield Road site in Dinbych. The capital receipt wasn't large enough and without capital, there came no permission from Caerdydd. Denbighshire certainly wasn't able to raise a lone to pay for the building. It was a PFI or nothing.
Since all that, nationally, the wisdom of PFIs has been questioned. It's past its sell by date and the notion itself has gone rotten. If Private Eye is correct, it was somewhat ironic that County Hall cost £12mil to build yet Denbighshire has spent £17mil to exit from the agreement. Denbighshire had already spent £25mil in the 11 years since its 2004 building. £41mil would be paid over the remainder of the contract—14 years—and with all costs and disbursements, the actual saving to the council was £12mil than carrying on with the PFI. Neither Private Eye nor the Free Press mentioned this.
Critics were, of course, scathing, but I wonder how many of them understood the issues. I certainly don't. It seems that the costs are a legacy of the 1996 local government reorganisation. And they could be a burden into the next: whether as PFI or as a wholly owned building, the role Rhuthun may in play in future local government administration is unknown. Will the seat of power move to Conwy, Bae Colwyn or Yr Wyddgrug/Mold?
And with the new deal comes total control over the building. This includes the ability to charge for car parking, should Denbighshire decide to do so. That would prove an interesting move. Charging is exactly what they're doing 11 miles down the road at the County Hall campus in Yr Wyddgrug in the previously Rotten Borough of Flintshire.
Needless to say, the county council had to justify things with several column inches in the Free Press. Who was right? Private Eye or the council? What neither seemed to say was that in 2004, when county hall was completed, if you didn't use a PFI you couldn't build anything. Back then, PFIs were the flavour of the month. Hospitals, schools and just about any public building were all financed in this way. For example, Conwy council went all-out to build brand new PFI schools.
And I wonder without PFI whether Denbighshire's head office would have remained in Rhuthun. The whole building was time-expired and basically worn out. Older readers will recall Glyndŵr's two-storey portacabins and Clwyd social service's wooden-clad single storey temporary sheds. Plans from 1988 to replace the lot had come to nought and the whole site, main building and outliers, was deteriorating. Even the chief executive's suite leaked (as in the ingress of rainwater, rather than the revelation or disclosure of documents, though who knows!). Denbighshire tried to unlock land to build and this included the sale of its Smithfield Road site in Dinbych. The capital receipt wasn't large enough and without capital, there came no permission from Caerdydd. Denbighshire certainly wasn't able to raise a lone to pay for the building. It was a PFI or nothing.
Since all that, nationally, the wisdom of PFIs has been questioned. It's past its sell by date and the notion itself has gone rotten. If Private Eye is correct, it was somewhat ironic that County Hall cost £12mil to build yet Denbighshire has spent £17mil to exit from the agreement. Denbighshire had already spent £25mil in the 11 years since its 2004 building. £41mil would be paid over the remainder of the contract—14 years—and with all costs and disbursements, the actual saving to the council was £12mil than carrying on with the PFI. Neither Private Eye nor the Free Press mentioned this.
Critics were, of course, scathing, but I wonder how many of them understood the issues. I certainly don't. It seems that the costs are a legacy of the 1996 local government reorganisation. And they could be a burden into the next: whether as PFI or as a wholly owned building, the role Rhuthun may in play in future local government administration is unknown. Will the seat of power move to Conwy, Bae Colwyn or Yr Wyddgrug/Mold?
And with the new deal comes total control over the building. This includes the ability to charge for car parking, should Denbighshire decide to do so. That would prove an interesting move. Charging is exactly what they're doing 11 miles down the road at the County Hall campus in Yr Wyddgrug in the previously Rotten Borough of Flintshire.