They are also, (despite the Council’s best efforts to conserve energy), very energy inefficient by modern standards. Projected increases in energy costs for 2009/10 are approaching £9m, which would equate to a 9% increase in Council Tax if left unchecked.

In addition to this, many of the buildings are inadequate for the services they provide today and do not meet the higher, 21^st century, expectations of the public who want easy to access, modern, multi-purpose facilities which are clean, safe, efficient and welcoming.

Wirral Council’s Cabinet will, on October 16^th, receive two reports aimed at addressing this issue. One is a Strategic Asset Review which looks at Wirral’s buildings as a whole and suggests a way forward to transform the current patchwork of buildings into a better quality service provision fit for the future. The second is the Cultural Services Development Plan which is a consultant’s report looking at the future of Cultural Services in the light of the Council’s priorities and the need to modernise and improve our facilities. 

Both reviews are borough wide. They do not concentrate on individual buildings, but on a strategic way forward to provide modern, up to date facilities which meet the public’s needs in the 21^st century and, by combining services together in a number of locations, improve public access and opening hours, reduce operational costs, and save the taxpayer money .

Welcoming the Strategic Asset Review, Councillor Steve Foulkes said: “Doing nothing is not an option. It is both responsible and right that we should carry out a comprehensive review of all the council’s built assets to ensure they are fit for the 21^st Century and beyond.

“The residents of Wirral deserve to access excellent services from buildings that are modern and appropriate and do so without placing the burden on taxpayers of paying for old, energy inefficient buildings. The current situation is simply no longer sustainable. Conducting the review now means that the Council can plan to modernise our assets in a measured and appropriate way which will improve the services we deliver.”

In tandem with the Strategic Asset Review, members will receive a detailed report on the findings of a comprehensive e review of cultural services which has been carried out over the last year. This review helped form the over-riding vision for cultural services in Wirral: “through integrated management to deliver high quality, multi-purpose facilities, concentrated on strategic locations to benefit the whole community of Wirral.” This vision has also informed the Strategic Asset Review.

The report recommends a series of actions and principles which are vital for delivering a service which best meets the demands of today and the needs of residents.

These include having fewer, but better facilities and having improved accessibility to these facilities for the whole community. It also identified a need for cultural services to be more integrated with other community-based services such as adult social care, health and services for children and young people and encourages user groups to become increasingly involved in the management and delivery of some services.

It also sets out a list of recommendations for improvements to individual service areas, such as sport and recreation, libraries, arts and heritage, parks and countryside and community services.

Councillor Bob Moon, Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Culture and Leisure Services, says: “This has been an extremely comprehensive review of how the Council currently delivers cultural services. The consultants have visited every cultural facility in the borough and sought the views of staff and representative user groups in order to accurate assess the strengths and weaknesses of how we do things now.

“The review makes clear that we currently operate too many buildings, some in poor state of repair and some simply inaccessible to large parts of the community. In that respect, the findings of the review come as no surprise.

“What is exciting about the new vision for cultural services is that it sets out a plan for how we can take positive steps to deliver modern, fit for purpose, safe and accessible cultural facilities that give real value for money for the council tax payer.”