Welsh Council accused of losing £300,000 in library deal

Richard Evans, Local democracy reporter

A councillor claims more than £300,000 of earmarked savings from a renegotiated library lease will be lost after the council decided to relocate the service before the deal broke even.

Cllr Harry Saville says Conwy County Council paid £653,000 to Mostyn Estates in 2022 so they could exit an existing lease and enter into a new money-saving agreement at the Mostyn Street building.

The decision was made by cabinet in a behind-closed-doors meeting.

But Cllr Saville says Conwy County Council’s decision to move the library to Venue Cymru – following £20 million of UK Government funding being allocated for the library move – will mean those annual savings won’t be made.

For that to happen, said Cllr Saville, the council would need to remain at the Mostyn Street library until around 2033 instead of vacating the building around 2027.

As the council was recouping around £75,000 a year from the new deal, it meant the savings put in place weren’t realised.

The current Mostyn Street Library landlord is Llandudno Holdings LLP, a partnership between Mostyn Estates and Taleight Ltd.

Speaking about the issue, Councillor Saville said: “In 2022 Conwy County Borough Council paid their landlords at the library building on Mostyn Street £653,000 of tax payers’ money to enable them to negotiate a new lease and secure the library in the town centre for the next 99 years.

“It is staggering that the council then chose to walk away from that huge investment only three years later, before realising a return for the tax payers.

“Local people want the library to remain on Mostyn Street. Instead, they’re having an expensive and unwanted vanity project to move the library to Venue Cymru foisted upon them.”

He added: “This frankly isn’t good enough. Conwy Council, and the UK Government, who are financing the move to Venue Cymru, must think again.”

A council spokeswoman said: “Until staff moved to Coed Pella in December 2018, Conwy County Borough Council had offices on the top floor of the Mostyn Street building as well as the library on the first floor.

“Once the office space was no longer required, various options were considered to significantly reduce the council’s financial liabilities (we were contractually obligated to a lease arrangement for these premises until a break clause in 2045).

“A report was presented to cabinet in January 2022, where cabinet decided to surrender its freehold and leasehold interests in the whole building and take a new lease of the library and ground floor rooms only.”

She added: “Had we not surrendered the original lease the council would otherwise have incurred costs in the region of a further £1M over the life of that lease.”

Mostyn Estates declined to comment.