Deferral is to be welcomed

Cllr Mobbs stresses the need for decisions to be evidence-based and for all facts to be taken into account. I trust that he will apply this fully in establishing the criteria for the next version of the project. It isn’t that many years since WDC moved into Riverside House (2001) and yet as early as 2012 it declared its need to vacate its accommodation.

Before any sites are assessed, it is essential that WDC consider the possible changes to services, both statutory and optional, that will occur in the medium to long term, how those services might be delivered and the resources required - financial, human, technical and structural. The present round of cuts by central government has meant thousands of job losses in the public sector and there is good reason to believe they would continue after the next election if the Tories won.

When considered alongside the rapid progress of IT and new ways of working, it is probable that future needs will be radically different from those of today.

No one can foresee the future, but the Council would be failing in its duty if it did not undertake a scoping exercise and review its likely profile over the next five to 10 years and beyond. To not do so would render any appraisal of possible sites meaningless.

Tim Naylor, address supplied