Published

A detailed report on the proposals for a new Council HQ building and civic arts centre will be prepared for a meeting of the Council in early 2016, following a decision by Falkirk Council today (16th December).

The planned report will include a detailed analysis of the costs and timeline for the entire project as they are currently projected and a full review of alternatives available to the Council. It will also set out the potential impact of accounting rules and emerging VAT issues related to the proposed arts centre and an assessment of the impact these might have on the overall HQ project.

In the meantime, it has been agreed that no new contractual work will be entered into until that report has been considered.

Councillor Craig Martin, Leader of Falkirk Council said: “Given the scale of commitment required for this project we have to be entirely sure of all of the financial implications that we could incur in the future.

“Further investigations regarding VAT issues and changes in public sector accounting rules means that there may be complications in the future that leave our budgeting estimations for this project wide off the mark.

“This is new information that has led to these circumstances and members have been kept fully aware of all of the facts to date as they have been known.

“We have to remain prudent and thorough at this stage and we have asked for a more detailed report that will allow members to make a better informed decision on how the new HQ project proceeds.

“The report will provide a detailed analysis of the costs and timeline of the project and the implications of changes at this stage. It will also provide a full review of the alternatives available to the Council.

“Until we have this important information we are instructing that no further contractual work for this project is carried out and no decisions are taken until we are confident of the full facts involved.”