Falkirk town hall demolition consultation shows many people want it to remain open

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A consultation on whether to accelerate the demolition of Falkirk Town Hall has sent a message to the council that a replacement must be built soon.The council received 369 responses to the consultation, with 173 (47 per cent) agreeing to the acceleration of the demolition and 192 (52 per cent) disagreeing, along with four (one per cent) unanswered responses.Despite the slim majority of people being against accelerated demolition, a report going to members of Falkirk Council on Thursday is recommending that it should go ahead. Read more: Falkirk teachers' union criticises offer from COSLA and Scottish Government The report says that 81 of the 192 people disagreeing with the accelerated demolition did so because they wanted the town hall to remain open.But that is not an option, the report makes clear.Councillors have already agreed that the £2 million cost of separating the town hall from the municipal buildings - in order to keep it open until a replacement is built - was just too much.The report states: "Whilst these views have been recorded it should be recognised that the actual closure of the Town Hall did not form part of the consultation question."Removing those 81 responses means the majority of responses are in favour of quick demolition to clear the site the council report claims.But the report says all of the responses give a clear message to the council, regardless of whether they agree to the acceleration of the demolition or not.They say the council must have a definitive plan for a new facility; acknowledge the loss of a community resource; be decisive on both the demolition and the new Falkirk Town Hall; and mitigate any negative impact on local businesses and tourism in the interim.The consultation - a