WHEN back in 1974 local government reorganisation added 50 per cent to Eastleigh borough’s population, it was obvious that the existing Town Hall was not big enough to accommodate the extra administration staff needed and the council chamber, already full when there were only 28 councillors, couldn’t seat 44.

The ruling Labour group set in motion plans to build new civic offices.

The Conservatives, under Godfrey Olson, accused Labour of wasting public money on building unnecessary new offices.

Presumably their plan was that council staff would share desks and take turns to sit on a chair.

At council meetings the first 28 members to get there would bag a seat and the other 14 would have to stand.

The civic offices were designed to last 30-40 years and are now well past their expected lifespan, and are increasingly expensive to run and difficult to heat.

The council chamber itself is so poorly designed that half of it is out of sight from the public gallery beyond the first couple of rows.

With staff numbers in local government being cut and those remaining currently housed in an out-of-date building set to cost a fortune to keep in repair, the Lib Dem group want to dispose of such unsuitable premises and move to accommodation more appropriate.

At long last, Mr Olson’s wish is about to come true. Forty years ago he said that the civic offices were unnecessary, and now the Lib Dems agree and are going to move out.

He should be overjoyed to be proved right after all these years!

But I’ve just had a Tory election leaflet through my door telling me he now wants to keep them!

This must be the biggest U-turn in Eastleigh’s history.

MARTIN KYRLE, Chandler’s Ford.