Your article ‘Hub edges closer’ (Echo, April 10) reported that Dorset County Council have accepted Portland Town Council’s offer of £100,000 for Brackenbury Infant School

I have no objection to the BEACH project, but am very concerned about the way in which Portland Town Council has approached it. 

Any loan needed to finance the project, and any proposed increase to the Council Tax precept, are dependent on the demonstrable support of the residents and taxpayers of Portland. 

To this point there has been no discussion with the public regarding a potential £200,000 Public Works Loan, a potential £7 increase to next year’s Portland precept, or indeed which Portland properties, freed up by the centralisation of services at the Brackenbury site, Dorset County Council plan to sell, for c.£950,000, as a trade off for providing the Brackenbury site at a bargain price.

Fortunately, at the last PTC Finance Committee meeting on April 4 Cllr Jim Draper confirmed that there would be an open public meeting, or meetings, when there was more clarity over how much the council had secured in grants. 

This figure would confirm how big any loan would need to be. He repeated this promise of an open meeting at a later Annual Town Meeting.

Securing public support for the financial aspects of the Brackenbury School project is not a fanciful idea of mine. 

The loan application form, and the guidance notes for its completion, are provided by the Department for Communities and Local Government. 

The notes clearly state that: ‘Decisions on borrowing and loan repayment must be taken in an open and transparent way, following discussion in open meetings, inclusion of the matter on an agenda for a public meeting of the Council will not, in itself, be considered sufficient evidence of consultation. When increasing precept to fund borrowing, evidence of public support for increasing the associated precept will be required to support the loan application.’ 

I look forward to PTC giving good notice of when and where this public meeting will be, so that the people of Portland can hear the facts and have their say on whether and how the Council should proceed.

Without the consent of residents and taxpayers Cllr Wheller’s assumption that the plan has come together is just a little bit premature. 

Paul Snow
Victoria Place
Portland