AM’s office which never opened cost public £9.8k
UKIP leader Gareth Bennett is to repay £7,009 after signing up to rent a constituency office which was damp-ridden, without fully working electricity and “not capable of occupation”.
Mr Bennett, who represents South Wales Central in the Assembly, signed a lease for the former Angharad’s nightclub on Pontypridd High Street without seeing the property.
The task of leasing the office was given to a member of his staff and on March 24, 2017, Mr Bennett signed a four-year lease with an annual rent of £5,200.
He had never visited the premises, which had “extensive damp”, no electricity to the first floor and defective windows.
The rent level was found to have been acceptable if the property had been fully refurbished, but in the state it was, it was “not capable of occupation”.
Mr Bennett signed the lease against legal advice and signed a waiver.
In that lease, Mr Bennett agreed to keep the premises in good and substantial repair and condition and clean and tidy, to clean and repair all floor coverings in the premises, and in the last three months of the term to renew them and replace them with floor coverings of a colour and quality approved by the landlord.
He also agreed to decorate the inside and outside of the premises as often as reasonably necessary and also in the last three months of the term.
Mr Bennett said the member of staff he delegated finding the building to had experience in property development and he had been reliant on him. He said he did not recall being advised not to sign the lease.
By summer 2017, it was decided the cost of converting the premises was too high and Mr Bennett paid £4,533 from his own funds to cover the costs for legal fees to terminate the lease.
The total cost to the public was £9,883. That includes rent of £5,200, lease legal fees of £768, insurance of £128, a £500 rental deposit, a £150 damp survey, £420 for a valuation, an estate agent fee of £240 and building materials worth £2,477.
Writing to the standards commissioner Sir Roderick Evans in March, Mr Bennett said: “Naturally, I am extremely disappointed that the Assembly Commission incurred costs of £9,883 in this exercise, and I also incurred personal costs of £4,533. This is highly regrettable and I should like to offer my apologies for the expense incurred by the Commission from public funds owing to this unfortunate set of circumstances.”
Sir Roderick said despite the cost of almost £10,000, there was “nothing to show”.
Mr Bennett has agreed to pay £4,533 in legal fees and has requested £2,476.98 be taken from his November salary.
The standards committee found Mr Bennett’s actions had breached the code of conduct with an improper use of Assembly resources and bringing the Assembly into disrepute. They have censured the politician.
They make a number of recommendations for the Assembly Commission to look at, including creating a checklist of things they should look for when taking on a lease.
Mr Bennett had originally suggested opening an office on Gelliwastad Road, and invited US President Donald Trump to its opening.