Urchfont Manor still for sale (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Urchfont Manor still for sale

4:00pm Thursday 2nd February 2012 in Devizes By Lewis Cowen

Wiltshire Council’s cabinet has rejected calls for more consultation on the closure and sale of Urchfont Manor after their own councillors voted to ‘call in’ the decision.

The council’s overview and scrutiny organisation and resources select committee met on Monday morning to consider the motion by their chairman, Coun Jeff Osborn, to ask the cabinet to reconsider the decision, made at a meeting on January 17.

Coun Osborn, who stood down from the chair to propose his motion, said he had been unable to find any evidence of consultation on the sale of the medieval manor house, which has been used as an adult education college since 1947.

He said: “The strategy for consultation has been clearly laid out and I would like someone to explain to me the reason for the divergence from the strategy.”

During a public session, Dave Mottram, a member of Urchfont parish council, said the parish council was disappointed that it was not consulted before the decision was made.

He told the meeting: “We accept that Urchfont Manor will probably be sold off, but we would have appreciated the opportunity to put forward options, such as it being run as a charitable trust.”

But Coun Stuart Wheeler, who has cabinet responsibility for the ‘transformation’ process which involves the sale of the Manor, said that the disposal of the building was very different from the provision of services, which would be consulted on in the future.

He added: “If we went to the management board and told them that their jobs were at risk before we were able to inform our cabinet colleagues, we would have been acting incorrectly.”

Coun Wheeler said that the council was not obliged to consult with area boards, where local councillors are able to discuss issues in public, over the sale of ‘strategic assets’ like Urchfont Manor.

Coun Christopher New-bury replied that that situation should change. He said: “It is a good idea to consult with area boards on the disposal of strategic assets in their area.”

The committee voted by a narrow majority to call in the decision to sell Urchfont Manor until the relevant people had been consulted and an emergency session of the cabinet was arranged for Monday afternoon. There the cabinet decided not to reconsider their decision.

Council leader Coun Jane Scott said: “We have to make these very tough decisions. It’s not just to do with money but also to do with the protection of the building, and services, into the future.”