One look at the EDDC’s pictogram claiming it is presenting the ‘facts’ about its so-called ‘moving and improving’ project, and it was clear to many of us that this was just a PR stunt.

This is simply ‘greenwash’.

EDDC are claiming they want to save energy, but actually their extravagant plans to get out of Knowle would waste literally thousands of tonnes of energy, as this alternative pictogram tries to show.

They say they want half the current space as offices and that a nice new office block would give them a place ‘fit for purpose’.

But why does EDDC refuse to consider the glaringly obvious notion of selling off the older half of Knowle for housing and using the cash raised to revamp the newer part for their leaner and more efficient HQ?

Local estate agents say that £3million to £4million could be raised from selling off the former Victorian hotel – which would provide more than enough for retrofitting the 1970s block.

Besides, why should EDDC get a spanking new building when the rest of us have to make do and mend?

But what’s particularly galling is that EDDC are claiming that trashing Knowle and putting up a new office is somehow ‘environmentally-friendly’.

It has been shown countless times that to construct a new building produces thousands of tonnes of CO2 (or ‘embodied carbon’) compared to simply renovating an existing building.

But because EDDC refuses to divulge any meaningful figures under the guise of ‘commercial confidentiality’, it is impossible to verify exactly how many carbon emissions would be produced in their planned-for new HQ.

However, there is excellent software designed to calculate the amount of energy needed to put up a new building – and in my pictogram I’ve gone for the average.

The point remains the same, though – that plans to spend millions on a new building is not only going to spew tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere, but this is going to cost the taxpayer literally dear.

Especially as building projects always overspend – as the disaster next door at West Dorset shows with their expensive ‘relocation project’.

But then, it seems clear that EDDC are not interested in dialogue. By the time they come to speak with so-called ‘stakeholders’ at the end of the month, their cabinet and full council will already have decided about where they want to go.

At least, though, let’s be clear about what the ‘facts’ are really all about. You can find more detailed information at http://futuresforumvgs.blogspot.co.uk. Thank you.

Jeremy Woodward

Local campaigner