Category Archives: Uncategorized

A “structured closure” sounds wonderfully reassuring. Right up until somebody asks what, exactly, is being structured. Shropshire Council has approved a structured closure. Before assets move, land is sold and the company disappears, has anybody actually counted all the claims, defects, agreements and property problems left behind? On Sunday, The Alternative Council asked how ShropshireContinue reading “Cornovii: Before You Close It, Who Is Still Owed What?”

Apparently It Works Better After Someone Points It Out Andy Hall, Whitchurch Civic Centre and the curious art of taking governance seriously after the public has done the reading Shropshire Council says it values scrutiny, transparency and accountability. Splendid. The awkward part is that, in the case of Whitchurch Civic Centre, each principle seems toContinue reading “Governance, Shropshire Style”

Seven years of ambition. £35 million-plus of Council lending. A company reduced to two staff. A £4 million estimated loss that may rise. And apparently the proper time to investigate how we got here is after the doors have finally closed. THE ALTERNATIVE COUNCIL An evidence-led examination of how a Council-owned housing company moved fromContinue reading “Cornovii: Close It Now. Ask What Went Wrong Later.”

When a councillor wears two hats the public is entitled to ask which one is doing the talking THE ALTERNATIVE COUNCILAn evidence-led examination of overlapping roles, declared interests and continuing influence over the future of Whitchurch Civic Centre. Councillor Andy Hall. Photograph supplied to The Alternative Council. At the beginning of Shropshire Council’s Cabinet meetingContinue reading “Andy Hall and the Interest That Finally Made It onto the Agenda”

Cornovii, Whitchurch Civic Centre and the rather inconvenient question Shropshire Council has now agreed to hear 8 September 2026 There are coincidences, and then there are coincidences which arrive at the same Cabinet meeting carrying almost identical price tags. On 9 September Shropshire Council’s Cabinet is due to consider two very different matters. One isContinue reading “Two £4 Million Problems. One Cabinet Meeting. Now Answer the Question.”

£35.19 million loaned. 196 homes delivered. A minimum £4 million loss. Apparently the least disadvantageous thing to do now is close it. Back in February 2019, Shropshire Council was setting out the legal foundations for the housing company that would become Cornovii Developments Limited. The ambition was not exactly modest. Its own paper recorded anContinue reading “CORNOVII: A STRUCTURED CLOSURE FOR AN UNSTRUCTURED FAILURE”

Oswestry’s Houses and the Money Trail to Luxembourg Ordinary homes. Secured debt. Rental income. A Luxembourg securitisation vehicle. And a government-funded housing model sitting uncomfortably close to the same corporate network. Thirteen Oswestry addresses. 139 outstanding HFG5/HFG6 charges. Rental income pledged as security. The question is no longer simply who owns the house. It isContinue reading “WHO OWNS THE DEBT?”

An independent investigation was commissioned. It started. The connections around it raise questions. The records should provide the answers. The Alternative Council is not interested in inventing scandals. Shropshire Council appears perfectly capable of producing enough questions without our assistance. Our approach is simple. Where the evidence establishes a fact, we state it. Where theContinue reading “Shropshire Council Called Them “Very Serious”. Then the Investigation Disappeared.”

A Shropshire Council transformation story in which the transformation partner appears to have transformed rather more successfully than the Council. Shropshire Council had a dashboard. Apparently it was a very good dashboard. It showed budgets. It showed savings. It showed transformation. It produced narrative updates. And, according to the Council’s own March 2024 Adult SocialContinue reading “£3 Million Became £13 Million. Fortunately, Shropshire Council Had “Very Strong Oversight”.”

Apparently Shropshire Council already knew what was wrong. That may not be quite as reassuring as it sounds. There are occasions when a single sentence tells you rather more than the author probably intended. Shropshire Council Chief Executive Tanya Miles supplied one this week. Tanya Miles, Chief Executive – official photograph: Shropshire Council, 30 AprilContinue reading “22 Recommendations”