Labour Members Welcome Publication of City Centre Animation

Members of the Labour Opposition Group at Lichfield District Council have welcomed the release of an animation showing plans for the Lichfield City Centre Redevelopment Scheme which have been under wraps for many months. 

Since the elections in May, Labour councillors have been briefed in confidence on the overall strategy for the long-awaited plans for the former Friarsgate site and the wider City Centre but called for the “full public disclosure and explanation” a month ago, They are pleased that at last this has happened.

Cllr Colin Ball, who has chaired a Task Group on the City Centre Redevelopment Plans for several years, said:

“I welcome this step forward so that all of the council members and the public can see how the parts of the scheme fit together. It’s understandable that a lot of the plans have had to be confidential due to commercial sensitivities but the public we represent need to have the same overview. I’m pleased that the Council Leadership has now accepted what we, as Opposition members, have been calling for.”

Labour Group Leader, Cllr Sue Woodward, said:

“We are certainly supportive of the overall vision, which has been a very long time coming. This doesn’t mean that we are offering a blank cheque and will continue to challenge the Leadership as the plans progress but this is a really positive sign of progress.”

She added:

“Cllr Pullen’s comments at last week’s council meeting that our call for full exposition were ‘frustrating’ as Labour members had been briefed on the plans were a bit disingenuous. All of the briefings we’ve had have been in confidence, and we have honoured this confidentiality while also calling for the plans to be made public as soon as possible. He can’t have it both ways.”