Fareham Council vote down plans to buy Wates House

The proposal to purchase Wates House in Fareham was blocked at the latest borough council meeting, with all of the Conservative majority voting against it, in addition to the sole Labour councillor.

It was labelled by the ruling Tories as too expensive and not suitable.

All four Lib Dem councillors in attendance voted for the measure, and the independent councillor abstained.

Councillor David Hamilton, who proposed the plan, hoped the flats, which the Home Office was at one time considering using to house asylum seekers, could help to address the borough's shortage of affordable homes.

READ MORE: Lib Dems want Fareham Borough Council to buy Wates House

Cllr Hamilton called the decision "short-sighted and out of touch with the reality local families face".

He said: “The financial case they questioned was almost identical to the one their own executive supported just last year. Suddenly, the same numbers are ‘too risky’?

"The suggestion made in the debate that it might bankrupt Fareham is absurd. Buying property is typically a smart long-term investment.

"It’s politics at its worst — playing games while people are stuck waiting for a place to live.

"Let’s be clear: three out of four households on our waiting list need exactly these kinds of homes. Many have been waiting more than 20 months.

"That’s nearly two years of children growing up in temporary accommodation, of families stuck in limbo — and last night the Conservatives turned their backs on them."

Cllr David Hamilton at Wates House (Image: Councillor David Hamilton)

The blocked motion sought to commission an independent inspection of Wates House and explore funding, including government grants.

Leader of the council, Councillor Simon Martin, has hit back, saying that the Lib Dems were just trying to score "cheap political points".

He said: "It is not short-sighted at all. It is about using the money we have as a council to best use. 

"We don't need that type of one and two-bedroom flat for affordable housing. When we make an acquisition, we have to establish that there is a need and it is value for money."

READ MORE: Plan to use Wates House, Fareham for asylum seekers scrapped

Cllr Simon Martin (Image: LDR)

He added: "The potential costs would be over £7m for that site; we can get much better value for money elsewhere with pieces of land we own, and he (Councillor David Hamilton) was informed about it from the start.

"They are just making cheap political points, trying to be relevant on something that has been and gone."