The folly of a Lib Dem Council

Wokingham suffers under a Lib Dem led unitary Council, doubtless like others around the country. There is nothing liberal about them, constantly looking for new ways to regulate and tax us. There is little that is democratic, ignoring what we want even when they do bother to consult us.

I have written before about their disastrous £5.5 m roundabout remodelling scheme. The public did not want it. The roads did not need it. We now have a former roundabout with no legal junction signs  to guide drivers. The carriageway  sports fading painted leaves with no clue as to their meaning or use.

Today I wish to report their latest likely folly. I have long been critical of Councils having access to relatively cheap loans to make “investments” in property, renewables etc that are not needed for Council operations. I got the last government to cut back on this. Some  Councils have already borrowed too much, run out of money to pay the interest on the debts and needed a bail out and permission for yet higher taxes.

Wokingham now wants to sign contracts to borrow money to install a solar farm on land it owns. The original £20 m scheme to last 25 years has been stretched to £25 m or more  and now  to 40 years.The panels will need new inverters, will deteriorate with age and may need replacing  before 40 years are up. There seem to be problems in getting a guarantee of when they could link it into the grid to be able to start selling electricity.

There are various views of whether it would get into profit and for how long it would need the borrowings. At a 6% interest rate, a little below current Public Works Loan  Board rates the Council would face costs of £60 m over 40 years in interest. They will say they will be paying the loan off as they go. They also may put  some cash into the investment at the start. Assuming they reduced the loan by making regular repayments maybe the total interest cost could still be around £25 m. In order to make these repayments the Council would need full access to the grid throughout the life of the project and a high enough electricity price to cover all costs and leave enough cash to both service the loan and make reductions in it by cash payments. This is unlikely to be guaranteed.

There is no way a Council should be taking such risks with public money. What do they expect by way of electricity charges for the long period of the  plan? When will they secure a grid connection and reliable customers? How long will the panels last? How much will maintenance cost?

This is an easy £25 m saving, also  savings millions in interest  charges going forward. Surprise me Lib Dems. Stop the waste before it happens.