Shirebrook debt crisis- STC answers
Two and a half months! That’s how much time has passed since I had found out about the town’s debts and send out my first questions, till I received some concrete answers regarding the exact scale of this debt. I can’t be bothered to count the number of emails I sent with regard to this matter but believe me when I say there were lots of them. Far too many! Many more than a concerned resident should have to send…
In the end, I managed to obtain the information by using the Freedom of Information Act (!) – that was the only way to do it. Questions asked the usual way were left unanswered. Today, the only thing that matters is the health of our dearest and the Chinese flu. Nevertheless, we should not overlook the negligence on the part of Shirebrook Town Council.
It is my duty to inform residents about the state of local finances. When creating this site I made a promise to myself to inform others about what I know – no more and no less. I would provide information about the state of local elites, the town, finances as well as all of us as a community – about what our future will look like…
It might be that nobody is listening to me; perhaps I mean nothing, but the fact is that last month my articles were read by over one thousand people. It is also fact that according to democratic ideology, I have the right to propagate what I believe in. You can visit my website and share my views with your Facebook friends (please share the link to this article with your Facebook friends) or you can pretend that I am lying or rocking the boat and ignore me. Nevertheless, the truth is that:
Residents of Shirebrook! The Labour Party is leading us deeper into debt and dependence from creditors. We do however have a say and we can prevent it – we can vote in elections. Its probably too late to hold this loan. Shirebrook will pay THOUSANDS of pounds every year for the next 50(!) years!!! Let me stress again: fifty years!!!
Coronavirus has ruined our usual democratic discourse. It has put our lives and our usual decisions about our own future on hold – open and democratic elections were cancelled not only in the UK but also across Europe. Chinese communists are rubbing their hands with glee… Today we already know that the Police and Crime Commissioner elections scheduled for July 2020 have been cancelled.
Shirebrook – the town with the highest increase of rate of criminality in the last four years in the District of Bolsover will not have a say in the elections of the next Police and Crime Commissioner. The current Police and Crime Commissioner didn’t do anything to improve our lives and yet we will have to live with him for at least another year… Sooner or later this election will come. Will we vote Labour again? Will Labour spread leaflets with facts hidden from us or manipulated? Will Labour take us for granted again? As usual…
When reading these words you must know that even though I do not agree with the Labour Party’s strategies as to the development of this town, I do respect the fact that they have the majority and that they were elected legally. Do you want debts and crime? Vote Labour! Do you want a responsible financial policy? Do you want uncompromising battle against crime? Vote Conservative! The choice is simple. This is how democracy works – you support the better plan for the future and than you vote in accordance with your conscience. If you win- you keep eye on whether politicians fulfil what they promised. If you lose- you accept that even if you don’t like their plan – in one word: democracy! But if you want democracy to work- those with power have to be transparent. And STC is not! Labour Party and STC hide things, publish only what is convenient for them.
Therefore you need to know the facts about our town. Shirebrook will choose wisely ONLY if we know the ACTUAL and CURRENT situation of the town. So regardless of your political orientation – please read the below and draw your own conclusions. This is our power – freedom of speech and democracy. We can agree on things or not – but unlike what is currently happening in China – we can reject the choice of the majority in the election and speak openly about the sins of those at power.
The most important facts are as follows…
Firstly: the decision to take out the loan was made by Labour-led Shirebrook Town Council. As far as I can see, residents were never informed about the fact that the town was planning to sink into debts. The election leaflets of the Labour Party did not include any information about it. Even though I have read many issues of The Post, I didn’t find even a shred of information about it anywhere. Is this a lie simply or an attempt to conceal the truth – decide for yourself.
Secondly: the £30k mentioned by me in my previous articles is the statutory limit the local authorities may spend to pay off loans. The amount to be paid off by STC each year due to the construction of the new town hall will be smaller. What will be the exact annual repayment instalment? Well, it seems that nobody knows – the town will get such information only after it receives the loan. My calculations indicate that it will be in the range of £8k-10k annually – but I can be wrong. Fun fact – £10k is 10% of what the town currently has in its bank account! Each year! For the next 50 years! Year after year… Labour economics for you…
You would think that revealing the truth about the costs of the new Town Hall shouldn’t be an issue for Shirebrook – this is not, however, the case. For some reason, STC and the councillors of the Labour Party have been and still are trying to conceal the fact that the town has just sank itself in huge and long-term debt – only to erect a new building for themselves. Whereas the truth is that the only things the residents wanted was CCTV in the market square; a reduction of crime in the town and a monument commemorating the fact that Shirebrook is an ex-mining town… (to tell you the truth, we would be pleased with even just one of those things… meanwhile, we got nothing).
Thirdly: the new Town Hall will cost £689,816.08 plus VAT plus a retention amount that will become due after the 12 month inspection has been conducted. The redevelopment of the existing Village Hall would amount to just a FRACTION of this cost. A FRACTION. Nevertheless, to choose a more reasonable, cheaper for taxpayer development path you would have to vote for the Conservative Party and not the Labour Party…
Fourthly: the current debt in Shirebrook’s accounting books is the loan from Bolsover Council. The interest rate is 0.75% p.a. This loan is to be paid off with the money borrowed from PWLB. I wasn’t told the interest rate of this loan but I found information on their website that the interest rate of a loan for 50 years is 2.7% – am I the only one seeing a paradox here??? If I was a councillor, I would use every possible loophole not to swap the Bolsover’s loan for the PWBL loan – just to make sure I pay 1.95% less. I do realize that 1.95% might not seem a lot, however it becomes an astronomical amount when we are talking about a loan for 50 years! ASTRONOMICAL!!!
This is the difference between understanding life as a conservative and a socialist. These fractions of percentages play a VITAL role… The word ‘debt’ is empty and meaningless for socialists…
Fifthly: the most disappointing about all this are the actions of our councillors. Only two out of seven councillors in my constituency (SOUTH SHIREBROOK) published their contact email addresses on the town’s official website. Only one of those two responded to my inquiry – although only to say that she didn’t know anything and that he would pass it on to the Town Council. To be fair – the civil servant responsible for responding to me took her job seriously and responded quickly and exhaustively.
None of those two councillors nor civil servant responded to my question: Why did Labour Party not mention the debt in their election leaflets? Were they concealing the truth? Were they lying? Were they ashamed of it? I don’t know…
Who will pay for it all? I will, we will, you – residents of Shirebrook will. The most recent tax rise of 9.5% is just the beginning. I am 99% sure that there will be more tax rises. Mark my words… If you are leeching off the taxpayers, it doesn’t matter to you. However, if you are an honest, hard-working taxpayer like me, who pays their dues for the sake of development, such a loan will be harmful to you and your family for years to come… Our only choice is to VOTE and wait until the Conservative Party wins the election and fixes the problem…
As always in the UK: The Labour Party breaks things, the Conservative Party fixes them…
It is up to you whether you want to break or fix things … I know that fixing is much harder… however I know, from my own personal experience, that fixing is much more rewarding than breaking…
Sylwester Zwierzynski
Lead picture: Photo by Suzy Hazelwood from Pexels.com
Full response from STC:
Question 1: At ordinary full council meeting (29th January) I made my own notes. I wrote down that PWLB loan is 50 years long with 30 000 GBP yearly repayment. Did I made a mistake in my notes or was I right?
Answer: We currently have a total budget allowance of a maximum amount of £30,000 per year available to repay all capital expenditure/loans as they are agreed; this is not the amount to be paid back for this particular loan application. We would be notified of the annual payment if the loan is approved but the current rates are available for review on the PWLB website.
Question 2: If I was correct- does sum 30 000 include interest and fees?
Answer: I refer to my answer above
Question 3: I’m not sure (it’s not in my notes) but I think someone mentioned that PWLB loan was originally destined to be used as capital to build new Town Hall. Since town still didn’t obtain PWBL loan- where the money came from to build it?
Answer: A temporary loan of £450,000 at a rate of 0.75% from Bolsover District Council is in place for the Town Hall construction whilst the PWLB loan application is processed, this will be repaid on receipt of the PWLB loan
Question 4: I found 450 000 loan on last year financial statement. What was the source of this loan? What is the interest rate on this loan?
Answer: I refer to my response to your question 3
Question 5: I’m not sure now (it’s not in my notes) but I think I heard that 450 000 loan was used to build Town Hall while STC waited for PWLB loan. Is that true?
Answer: I refer to my response to your question 3
Question 6: If that is true- who made decision to go for other loan before PWLB loan was secured?
Answer: Shirebrook Town Council
Question 7: If that was true- why there is such a huge difference between PWBL loan and loan used to build Town Hall?
Answer: £450,000 is the amount the Town Council contributed to the construction of the Town Hall; the PWLB loan application is for £480,000 which would repay the temporary loan and allow an amount of £30,000 to construct a secure facility for the storage of equipment
Question 8: How much did the construction of Town Hall cost exactly?
Answer: £689,816.08 plus vat plus a retention amount that will become due after the 12 month inspection has been conducted
Question 9: I went through several issues of The Post to find any information about cost and ownership details of the building. I found nothing about cost and to be honest I found conflicting information about ownership. In one of the issues journalist claim that building is a joint venture of Bolsover District Council and STC, in another issue I found information that building is owned solely by STC. Who is the owner of that building?
Answer: Shirebrook Town Council owns the building
Question 10: Why Labour didn’t mention this PWBL loan on election leaflet before last local election?
Answer: I cannot comment on the actions of any political party
