SIR – I agree with councillor Paul Denham’s headline, “The Guildhall doesn’t pay now”, but surprise, surprise Paul, it never has and probably never will do.

He asks why the Tory cabinet moved the council staff and customer service centre out of the building and makes it sound like a political move. He ignores the sound business case for cost saving and efficiency by having all our departments as close together as possible – pushed for, may I remind him, by his own government.

He has already made clear his own party’s wish for Worcester to merge into a unitary authority and move all decision making to County Hall and away from the costly Guildhall and that it should no longer be or represent the centre of local democracy. This implies that all of a sudden, we divest ourselves of the cost of this building and that we turn it over to some other organisation.

Get real, Paul. Is he really suggesting that we lose control of Worcester’s prime civic building? Has he no respect, pride or feeling for Worcester’s history or heritage?

Assuming he hasn’t – which I cannot believe – who does he think would take it on? Why would they even want to? What would be in it for them?

The Guildhall is an integral part of Worcester – long may it be so.

COUNCILLOR DAVID CLARK,

Cabinet Member.