A Forfar councillor has warned against “selling the family silver at a knock down price” in the latest twist to the town’s superpub saga.
Councillor Colin Brown has revealed the passionate speech he made to colleagues in a closed-doors meeting, urging them not to accept a bid from JD Wetherspoon for council offices at 5-7 The Cross.
His amendment, seconded by fellow Forfar councillor Ian McLaren, that the pub be put on the open market, was narrowly defeated by 14 votes to 13 in the August 26 summit.
However, after a second bid on the property was received, another private meeting last week decided that the property should be put on sale publicly.
Mr Brown said he wanted to share the speech he made at the first meeting after receiving criticism from members of the public in Forfar that the council was considering a private deal with the pub chain.
In it he emphasised that the council should show its support to the pubs and restaurants operating in the town and warned his fellow members not to put “pounds before people”.
He said: “I am dismayed by this decision to try and sell 5-7 The Cross to allow another licensed premises to come to a town where all existing pubs are struggling to stay open.
“We don’t need another pub, especially in the centre of our town, let alone a Wetherspoon outlet.
“Forfar had at one time 32 pubs. Now there are 20. Does that not tell us that the trade is struggling?
“They pay the council a considerable amount in rates. I think we have a duty to support them, not to mention the 11 restaurants we already have and they are well capable of meeting the demand. Then we have our tearooms and coffee shops. I believe some will close as they will not be able to compete with a multinational.
“You should take these concerns into consideration in coming to a decision of pounds before people. Not in my book.”
He added that selling the pub for the amount of the Wetherspoon bid, believed to be £400,000, was not a fair market price.
He reminded other councillors of a situation in 2005 when the council almost sold its headquarters at St James House privately for £700,000 to a supermarket company, only to later receive £1.8 million when it was put on the open market.
Mr Brown continued: “To consider a bid of this amount for this building does not add up in my thinking. We are selling the family silver at a knock-down price.
“It should be put on the open market and get a valuation done by a reputable company to make sure we are getting a fair price as I can remember the St James House fiasco.
“I will not support any sale until we are at least sure we are getting the true market value and probably not even then as I can see it ruining several smaller business in the town.
“The cost of rehousing the operation at 5-7 The Cross will use almost all the amount realised from the sale.”
Montrose councillor David May, who backed Mr Brown’s amendment that the council offices be sold on the open market, said he was disappointed some councillors had not “learned their lesson”.
He said: “In he name of openness and transparency, when the council sell their buildings this should always be done in a public way and through the open market.
“You would have thought that some of the councillors would have learned their lesson after the debacle of selling their St James site.”