DETAILS of Wokingham’s Market Place’ regeneration have come to light after the council published a “damning” report outlining the issues it faced in undertaking the project.


The report, which was carried out by an external investigator, covered what the council did well, as well as recommendations for how the council could have managed the scheme better.


At a meeting on Monday, January 14, councillor Philip Mirfin, executive member for regeneration, said: “I was very pleased with officers that they all supported our need to have a review from the top down.
“We now have a very good team stuck in place that is already learning lessons.


“The perception of this project from some of the officers that at the time, this was a small project.
“I think every single one of them has taken on board that we were challenged, to say the least. We have had a really great result coming out of it.


“But it had not been as effective as it could have been. It was a bit of a nightmare.


“We wanted to bring everybody around one table. We were getting working project plans that were being met. That is why we finished in September.


“It was quite an experience. I’m delighted to say that the team worked very hard.”


The report comes after workshops with stakeholders from Wokingham Borough Council (WBC), Wokingham Town Council (WTC), Balfour Beatty and WSP met to review the project after its completion in September.


They pointed out that the council was forced to make payments with interest to contractors after paying them late, that one worker broke their foot during the construction phase, and that survey data provided at the design stage was not always accurate.


They also lamented the lack of a contract detailing expected key dates for the project, rare attendance from town and borough councillors at progress meetings and poor leadership and ‘no focus’ in the pre-planning stage.


And according to the stakeholders, during the construction phase there was a clash of personalities, missing information, egoism, and confrontations with a new project manager after the original left the project due to illness.


A number of recommendations have been issued to the council going forward with future highways projects.


Liberal Democrats Cllr Clive Jones told the News after the meeting: “WBC were completely out of their depth with this. It was a very damning report.


“Where was the effective management from senior officers and members?


“The council has been terribly run. We have to hope that there is going to be some lessons learned.”


Labour councillor Rachel Burgess added after the meeting: “Last year, I lost count of the number of residents who told me how dissatisfied they were with the state of the town centre during the works.


“These issues were continually raised with the executive member Cllr Mirfin and others, who claim they did everything they could, but having experienced first-hand how badly these works were handled, many of my residents will strongly disagree.”


The report also highlighted that the delayed start of the project was not communicated effectively with key clients and businesses in the borough.


It read: “It is commonly accepted that it is better to `undersell and overdeliver` than to raise expectations and fail to achieve critical outcomes. Perhaps it was felt better not to admit to problems and delays at the time – it is not unusual to hope for (or expect) a better outcome.”


And Cllr Burgess said feedback from town centre retailers had been “ignored”, claiming one said “the project was a disaster from the start”.


She added after the meeting: “The evidence presented showed that retailers raised a host of good ideas to ensure the works went as smoothly as possible way back in October 2017 – sadly many of these ideas were ignored, and for some the efforts made were too little, too late.”


However, at the meeting, Cllr Mirfin claimed: “Anybody who felt they needed help could file an application to apply for rates reduction.


“We had 9 applications and 2 were refused.


“One was refused as it was a hairdresser who made more money from the regeneration than before but still wanted a rebate.


“The borough council got involved with many schemes to help businesses, such as voucher schemes. But some businesses don’t always want to take up what you offer. Some will complain for complaining sake.”


The report also suggested the governance of the project could have been better, adding that “given the scope of issues covered, length of time involved, uncertainty about the make-up of the Project Board and how the overall project was administered, governance could have been tailored better to fit the needs of the delivery of the projects at a more practical level”.


The scheme was expected to cost the council £4.2m but the authority is believed to have spent £4.4m by the completion of the project.


Initially, however, assumptions had been made that the regeneration would cost £4.6m and the figure was revised to £4.2m after consultation. Despite this, the council came in for criticism.


The report continued: “In our opinion, the project management team should have provided the budget controller with more regular updates. The team is now aware of the need for increased budget monitoring and financial reporting.”


Conservative councillor Shahid Younis laid into how the project was overseen, saying: “I have serious reservations regarding how this project was managed. There seemed to be a lack of financial governance. The buck stops with WBC.”


The report also acknowledged that various residents had raised concerns about accessibility in the town centre.


Councillors claimed there still needed to be a greater difference between the road and the pavement in Market Place, better signage for parking bays and greater accessibility for adults with autism and for wheelchair users.


Councillors Mike Haines, Guy Grandison, David Sleight, Rachel Burgess and Clive Jones called for the creation of a list of all the disabled groups that should be consulted before a major project goes ahead in the future.


Officer Chris Easton said: “We are learning in this process with these projects. If it is a best to have a list of groups we consult with, that is something we could do.”


Cllr Burgess claimed earlier in the meeting that the look and design of the town centre had been prioritised over the accessibility of the area, adding that some elderly people had given up visiting the regenerated site because it was too confusing.


Chris Easton said: “It is fair to say when you look back there was an aspect of making the place look good.


“Even for us at the council, it was difficult for us to get a sandwich at lunchtime.”


Liberal Democrats Cllr Clive Jones asked if the speed limit for cars driving through the town centre could be reduced from 30mph to 20mph, adding that he almost stepped out into oncoming traffic recently.


Chris Easton told councillors of the difficulties of doing this, claiming: “Just because there is a sign, doesn’t mean people will travel at 20mph. Police won’t enforce it if traffic is travelling at 30mph.”


Cllr Mirfin added: “I think the courtesy is improving. Drivers are more aware of pedestrians.”