Lambeth Liberal Democrats deal with Labour's legacy of underinvestment

10.10.48pm BST (GMT +0100) Tue 5th Apr 2005

One of the run-down temporary offices now being replaced

In many areas of Lambeth Council, Labour councillors' failure to plan and invest have meant that the Liberal Democrats are now making key decisions on improving local services.

Many of Lambeth Council's offices were left in a shocking state by Labour: Mary Seacole House in Clapham High Street faced massive maintenance and health and safety bills, 'portacabins' in Brixton were in an appalling state, and many Council offices were not properly accessible to disabled people. The cost of dealing with all these legacies would have been huge, so the Council has bought a vacant new office block in Vauxhall - for less than the bill for repairing all Labour's run-down offices!

The Lib Dem-led Council has also been obliged to carry out major repairs to the Town Hall - repairs which were stopped by Labour in July 2000 in order to avoid Labour over-spends, and then forgotten (they had got as far as re-gilding the chandeliers)…