Town developers pay for council chiefs’ £25k fair trip
ACOUNCIL’S £25,000 trip to a property fair in the south of France was paid for by the developer behind a £100m town centre shopping development, it has emerged.
Town hall chiefs in Rochdale have been accused of a ‘gross error of judgement’ after it was confirmed the cost of sending a delegation to the MIPIM conference in Cannes was covered by firm Genr8.
The developer is behind the ongoing Rochdale Riverside development, which will see new shops, restaurants and a cinema built around Smith Street.
Genr8 sponsored council leader Allen Brett; chief executive Steve Rumbelow; cabinet member for regeneration Coun John Blundell; and director of economy John Searle to attend last month’s conference, billed as ‘the world’s leading property market’.
It sees architects, construction firms, property groups, investors and government bodies head to the south of France every year for four days of networking and deal-making.
Manchester council has sent an annual delegation to Cannes since 2000. Other councils in attendance last month included Salford, Trafford, Oldham, Bolton and Stockport.
Coun Andy Kelly, leader of the Lib Dems in Rochdale, said town hall bosses accepting Genr8’s cash was a ‘conflict of interest’.
“It’s a gross error of judgement,” he said.
“First of all why are we accepting a £25,000 gift from a major developer with whom we have a multimillion pound contract?
“What happens if something goes wrong with the Rochdale Riverside contract? What happens in the future if Genr8 tenders for more work in the borough?
“If Genr8 wins any future council contracts it could look suspicious, but what if they are the best value for money and are overlooked to avoid that suspicion? Then the council is losing out.
“But the real question is what good does [attending MIPIM] actually do?”
Last month, the M.E.N. asked the council a number of questions about MIPIM, but were told details of how the trip was funded were ‘not available’.
This week, the town hall confirmed Genr8 had paid for the Rochdale delegation.
In a statement, chief executive Mr Rumbelow said: “The council has a vision for creating more jobs and opportunities for its residents and businesses, which means we have to take opportunities to let investors and developers know what is available here now and what is going to be available in the future.
“For far too long Rochdale has lagged behind many other local author- ity areas; regionally but especially nationally.
“Manchester has one of the bigger city region presences at the event with a number of other local authorities working together to bring investment to Greater Manchester.
“In the past year the council has helped to create hundreds of jobs, attracted millions of pounds of private investment into the borough, filled hundreds of thousands of square feet of employment floor space and generated millions in additional income that is helping to protect other council services.
“None of that happens by standing on the sidelines hoping that something drifts our way by chance.”
A spokeswoman for Genr8 said: “Genr8 are the council’s development partners on Rochdale Riverside. The scheme is at a really significant stage of development and as a major part of the wider regeneration of the town, we are fully supportive of the council’s attendance at MIPIM.”