News

Controversial regeneration company put on hold

By Laura Herbert
October 18, 2012

Council bosses are expected to put the company set up to oversee the town centre regeneration on hold while plans push ahead for Peach Place and Elms Field.

Wokingham Enterprises Limited (WEL) was launched two years ago by Wokingham Borough Council after it took ownership of Peach Place, to find external funding for the regeneration, give advice to the council and receive the transfer of regeneration assets such as Elms Field and the Paddocks.

It will cease trading in a money-saving move to place it into a ‘dormant status’. The council’s trading and enterprises sub committee is expected to agree to transfer WEL’s activities to the council so it can become a dormant company when it meets on Monday.

WEL moves into profit

Dormant companies have no accounting transactions, but can be reinstated for trading in the future.

A report into the meeting states: “By moving the company into a ‘dormant status’ the council can reduce its overheads and procure external regeneration and other property advice as and when required.”

It adds: “Although the picture is unlikely to be clear in the near future, it may include the need for a wholly owned company. If so, WEL could be relaunched from its ‘dormant status’.”

Councillors vote for £6,000 payments

Councillor David Lee, leader of the council, said: “The company was set up to assist with the regeneration and it did a lot of work in the beginning. It looked at how it should be financed and we changed the financial approach from external as it was financed by the council.

“At this point they have achieved everything they set out to achieve.”

Row grows over councillors' £6,000 payments

In August, the council’s decision to pay non-executive directors of council-owned companies, including WEL, £6,095 a year caused controversy with the Liberal Democrats accusing the ruling Conservative party of breaching council policy. But, while the company remains ‘dormant’ it will have two council officers acting as ‘holding directors’ for the business.

Probe into councillors' £600,000 payments

The council also owns social care provider Optalis and affordable housing provider, Wokingham Housing Ltd.

The meeting takes place at the civic offices in Shute End at 6.30pm.

n What you think about the decision? Email your thoughts to wokinghamtimeseditorial@trinity south.co.uk.

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Hopefully this will mean that the Town centre development will be halted as well.

If they want to go ahead they should ask the residents of Wokingham in a referendum do you want such a development; do you want to be paying off the £87m for quite a few years with no doubts higher rates; and what sort of Town centre do you want - one that is all M&S sort (directly competing with Reading) or one that supports smaller businesses who have something different to offer and thereby maintaining a certain charm in Wokingham!!! Tahir

Troubled, Reading
24/10/2012 at 12:58

So now we have two councillors being payed £6k per annum to oversee a dormant company.

PoneRana, Wokingham
21/10/2012 at 11:30

At last an admission that the Elms Field development has nothing to do with regeneration. It is simply an asset that the council wants to milk for its revenue possibilities.

The town used to have assets that the council used for the benefit of its residents. Carnival Field, Martins Pool and now Elms Field all desecrated to provide the council with cash, but taking away open space from the residents.

PoneRana, Wokingham
20/10/2012 at 11:36

I have to say, I've always like the way Councillor Bray conducts herself. Not a Lib Dem myself, but credit where it's due.

Frankly, I would take anyone over the current lot; their performance and attitude, in my opinion, stinks.

Damiano_Tommassi, Wokingham
19/10/2012 at 12:10

Yes, I must admit Greg Bello. as a person, talks a lot of sense when involved in local politics.

Silver Royal, Woodley
19/10/2012 at 11:03

Silver Royal, surely you must believe as I do that ANY alternative is an improvement? If you really believe the council is doing the sorts of things you describe, then it's likely that anyone who replaced them would be more... honest.

Damiano_Tommassi, Wokingham
19/10/2012 at 09:29

WBC is now run by a group assured of a majority anyway by the rural pockets of true blues around the Borough. These people vote for them irrespective of how they manage the Council since they fear the consequences of any alternative, and let's be honest, there is no viable opposition. Hence, they treat residents with contempt whether imposing changes to the refuse collection service, granting planning consents without any regard to local opposition and common sense, setting up of companies to allow them to play 'running a company' games and claim pay for doing so, permitting the deterioration of the highways infrastructure except for 'their' key projects, the closing of old people homes and sale to private companies who will charge exhorbitant admin fees. Is this really how a local council should be run. I would prefer the government to close them down, make major savings and have national standards. There is no local democracy in WBC.

Silver Royal, Woodley
18/10/2012 at 18:31

Oh my life....!

Sometimes we hear/make conspiracy theories, think of executives and politicians as a merry-go-round of nepotism and the old boys' network, and get carried away with these things.

And then we finds that the previous (largely despised, at least by the employees) chief executive is on the board of a company paid by the current executives to hire the current executives and their friends, to do jobs that the council was previously already doing, for a greater fee - and that company was wound-down having done nothing of any significance and having not achieved its aims. AND THEN the leader of the council says that WEL "they have achieved everything they set out to achieve".

Honestly - if you know any of this and vote for the same people again, you are either insane, in cahoots, or incomprehensibly stupid.

Damiano_Tommassi, Wokingham
18/10/2012 at 17:25

Well PDRF - funny you should say that but check this out:-

http://www.rockpools.co.uk/index.php?id=90 - which I assume is the same company and it seems like Susan Law - you know the recent CEO of Wokingham Borough Council (when Rockpools were appointed) is now an Executive Director of the company.

I didn't expect to see that when I googled Rockpools - she says on their website "I lead the establishment of our global business into Australia and the Asia Pacific and have the pleasure of introducing the Rockpools ethos to the Southern Hemisphere"

I am not sure I like the ethos!

Phil Challis, woodley
18/10/2012 at 17:12

@DT... No idea. Questions that a fine upstanding publication (which is certainly not in the pocket of WBC) such as the Woky Times might want to ask.

@Phil Challis. The icing on the biscuit would be to learn that these guys also get a pension on top of the £6K

Paul Daniels' reattached finger.
18/10/2012 at 15:43

Paul's Finger - Do we know who "Rockpools - A Global Executive Search firm" appointed to these roles? It'd be disappointing if we were to find that they were all people known to each other and to the existing councillors, for example.

Damiano_Tommassi, Wokingham
18/10/2012 at 15:34

Add - any pay-off for the non-council directors, web hosting, and all the internal council time that could have been spent on something with a real outcome.

....and please don't tell me that the councillor directors that were just awarded £6095/yr will get severance pay etc ...that would take the biscuit!

Phil Challis, woodley
18/10/2012 at 15:31

The website states that content is the copyright of Rockpools - A Global Executive Search firm. .... and that 'Local Asset Backed Vehicles (LABVs)... Reduce the burden of regulatory compliance through asset transfer to the LABV'.

I take my comment back regarding the employment of an Accountant as clearly, this arrangement is designed to be unaccountable.

Paul Daniels' reattached finger.
18/10/2012 at 15:17

According to the organisation's own website (http://www.wokinghamenterprisesltd.co.uk/Wokingham-Enterprises-Limited/):

"The Council and the Company have agreed to actively realise a shared vision by:

the successful regeneration of Wokingham Town centre and other areas of the borough

the establishment of a dedicated property company that will promote key land and property locations in Wokingham in the long term and

to introduce a partner that will ensure the continuous and ongoing re-investment in the Wokingham Town Centre and other areas of the borough"

Now to my knowledge, it has not achieved these things. Does that mean that I can, fairly and categorically, say that Councillor David Lee, leader of the council, has lied when he says "they have achieved everything they set out to achieve"?