Lord Football
Blues on Tour
Whilst I can't be arsed with politics on here anymore... a brief history.
In 1985 there was a Customs & Excise presence in 5 buildings in Victoria Avenue (Alex, Portcullis, Carby, Heath (or Coleman as it was called) and Baryta. Plus you have Revenue staff in Heath and DHSS (as was) had an office there as well. Over 4000 people gainfully employed.
The reduction in the Civil Service started under John Major and staff numbers slowly started to decrease. The only Civil Servants in Vic Avenue are the 1800 employed by HMRC in Alex House (of which I am one).
All the empty buildings are awaiting a buyer. Portcullis is owned by Mapeley, a property management company, who HMRC sold their estate to in 2004. Mapeleys are a tax haven company by the way. Clearly with no jobs or investment in the town, there is little chance of Vic Avenue being a hive of employment in the public or private sector for many years to come.
As an aside a mate of mine wanted to buy up Heaths and turn it into a top class business hotel. Sadly the ground rents were too prohibitive and the plans never got off the ground.
In 1985 there was a Customs & Excise presence in 5 buildings in Victoria Avenue (Alex, Portcullis, Carby, Heath (or Coleman as it was called) and Baryta. Plus you have Revenue staff in Heath and DHSS (as was) had an office there as well. Over 4000 people gainfully employed.
The reduction in the Civil Service started under John Major and staff numbers slowly started to decrease. The only Civil Servants in Vic Avenue are the 1800 employed by HMRC in Alex House (of which I am one).
All the empty buildings are awaiting a buyer. Portcullis is owned by Mapeley, a property management company, who HMRC sold their estate to in 2004. Mapeleys are a tax haven company by the way. Clearly with no jobs or investment in the town, there is little chance of Vic Avenue being a hive of employment in the public or private sector for many years to come.
As an aside a mate of mine wanted to buy up Heaths and turn it into a top class business hotel. Sadly the ground rents were too prohibitive and the plans never got off the ground.