‘Scandalous’ 3.6m council ‘cover-up’

Richard Evans Local Democracy Reporter

Banning media from a council meeting on an unusable HGV depot is a “scandalous cover-up” a Tory MS claims.

Aberconwy MS Janet Finch-Saunders says it’s “disgraceful” that Conwy County Borough Council plans to hold a behind closed doors meeting on the  Mochdre HGV depot that costs taxpayers £240,000 a year.

The council entered a contract for the purpose-built Mochdre “shed” back in May 2016 before the depot’s floor was deemed to be unsuitable to accommodate the council’s HGV fleet.

But after spending well over £2m on rent over nine years, the council is locked in a legal battle with the company it’s leasing the building from.

The agreement can’t be broken until 2031, and should the council continue to honour the rent payments until then, the total expenditure on the depot would reach around £3.6 million.

Review

Councillors were told in 2019, following an independent, external review, that there were process failings in the way the council took on the lease at Mochdre Commerce Park.

Conwy’s finance and resources overview scrutiny committee are due to discuss the matter on Monday, September 1 at the council’s Coed Pella HQ, but the committee is scheduled to exclude the public and press.

The reasons for exclusion are given as “information relating to business affairs” and the potential for it affecting ongoing “legal proceedings”.

The resolution states: “The public interest in protecting the Authority’s position in dealing with this matter outweighs the public interest in event of disclosure.”

But Aberconwy MS Janet Finch-Saunders has called the behind-closed-doors meeting “disgraceful” and has accused Conwy of a “cover up”.

“Conwy County Council has a record of taking (discussing behind closed doors) controversial reports that would spark an outrage with council taxpayers if the information were to be disclosed,” she said.

“I believe that all councillors have got a duty to stand up to the cabinet and the leader, Cllr Charlie McCoubrey, and allow this information to be shared.

“Too often the reason for confidentiality is that it is commercially sensitive; however, on something so scandalous, in terms of the record of public spend of hundreds of thousands of pounds, it is an outrage that council-tax payers are being kept in the dark. The public interest, I think, is being breached because people have a right to know what their money is going towards.

“This scale of waste could allow public toilets to be opened, more cleaners on our streets, or (be used) for failing social care. It is outrageous. I really question the integrity of allowing these reports to go in such an undisclosed manner. It is scandalous for the council to be operating in this way. It is definitely a cover up.”

“Money down the drain”

She continued: “Hundreds of thousands of pounds have been wasted, not only the costs that have come before us but also the legal costs. I’ve long called for this building to be put out as a sublet. This council cannot afford to keep pouring taxpayers’ money down the drain. I think there is some ineptness here.

“All councillors are accountable to the electorate. At the end of the day, in the past, when I was a councillor, quite often my group took the risk of calling out officers. They could throw the code of conduct at you and say, ‘What the officers are saying goes.’ But I’m sorry, but the Nolan Principles are about transparency, accountability, and honesty, and I believe these reports going (to be discussed) in such an undisclosed manner and far away from the public eye, and not allowing the media to attend, I think it is disgraceful.

She added: “If I was leader of Conwy County Borough Council, I would be insisting that reports such as this be held in a public arena, and I would expect to take the flak for that.”

The council was contacted for a comment.

Initially leased from Conygar Investment Company PLC, R.R Sea Strand Limited now serves as the landlords.

The facility was used for storing pandemic-related equipment and even prepared as an emergency temporary morgue during the height of the COVID crisis but has been largely left unused since 2016.