Council blasted for £3.3m spending at shopping centre
SEFTON Council has come in for fierce criticism after it was revealed that more than £3.3million will be spent on improvement works at the council-owned New Strand Shopping Centre in Bootle.
The local authority bought the centre last year in a £32.5million deal, financed by a loan which the council said came at no expense to the taxpayer.
At the time of the purchase, it said the income generated by the centre would ‘more than cover’ the loan repayment costs and the centre’s running costs, meaning there would be enough money left over to contribute to much-needed local services and new regeneration projects.
A document produced ahead of today’s (Thursday) Cabinet meeting shows plans to spend a further £3m on “general works to improve the customer experience”, while a request has also been made by the Head of Corporate Resources to begin the process of a £300,000 repair work at the TJ Hughes store in the centre.
A separate report on the TJ Hughes unit says that existing structural damage was made worse during the bad weather over winter and that £28,000 has been spent on temporary repairs.
It says: “Urgent temporary works and propping have been undertaken to shore up the structure and this has enabled the shop to continue to operate on a daily basis.
“Further investigations following this event have resulted in the need for an extensive scheme of specialist remedial works to ensure future stability of the ceiling / roof structure.
“Given the nature of this failure, it is essential that works are undertaken as a matter of urgency. Implementing the remedial measures will ensure compliance with Health and Safety requirements; and maintain and support the structural integrity of the asset.”
Birkdale Lib Dem councillor Iain Brodie Brown has been critical of the purchase throughout the deal and says that if these costs were known earlier then they should have been made public.
He said: “I am very uncomfortable with the council becoming involved with multi-million-pound property speculation.
“Many experts have question the financial sense of this project. Sefton Council became the butt of jokes on the satirical TV quiz show ‘Have I Got News For You’ and major national newspapers joined in the criticism.
“Given that nigh on £3/4million was spent on professional advisers one would have hoped these costs would have been revealed at the time.”
Dukes Ward Conservative councillor Sir Ron Watson said: “The unfortunate news that the two Poundworld retail outlets in Southport are currently in administration is a blow to Southport Chapel Street in particular but the whole situation has much wider implications for Sefton.
Sir Ron said: “I was one of those who was very much opposed to the decision by the Labour administration on Sefton to borrow £32 million in order to buy the Strand Shopping Centre in Bootle where Poundworld is one of the major outlets.
“As a member of the Southport Area Committee at the time I asked a series of very detailed questions about the viability of the project and I also attended a public meeting but in my view there were too many instances when answers were not given due to ‘commercial confidentiality’.
“The basic point, however, has always remained the same, namely that no private sector company or organisation would entertain buying the Strand and this was based on their commercial assessment of its viability not just in terms of rental income but also the high level of repairs and maintenance that are necessary.
“The ever likelihood of the loss of one significant rental income simply proves that in the current climate the whole scheme is much too risky and council tax payers money in the form of interest repayment alone cannot be justified.
“It is very difficult to see how the Labour leadership of Sefton Council can get out of the dilemma they have caused.”
A spokesman for Sefton Council said: “If agreed, this capital investment will support an approved Business Plan to enhance the sustainable competitive position of this important community asset.”