Demand for answers over Bridgend market finances
REGIONAL Senedd member Altaf Hussain is raising concerns about the financial fall-out for Bridgend council taxpayers from the discovery of Raac in the roof of Bridgend market.
The town’s indoor market has remained closed since October with stallholders now relocated either to a shared unit in the Rhiw Centre or to individual shops scattered throughout the town centre.
Welsh Conservative Dr Hussain said that he had submitted a series of questions to the council under the Freedom of Information provisions.
He said: “What we need to know is exactly how much council taxpayers are on the hook for as a result of the Raac discovery.
“There is no blame at all for the situation on the current councillors and officers but I have become increasingly concerned about what I have been told about the financial arrangements that the predecessor council – Bridgend UDC – signed up to when they sold the town’s original market to developers who were constructing the Rhiw Centre and the replacement market.
“I have asked the council how much rent the authority currently pays each year – I gather it was in excess of £100,000 some years ago.
“I have also asked if the terms of the lease mean that the council is liable for the full costs of the repairs. I have also been told that Bridgend UDC signed a 99-year lease which means that there is about forty or more years left and that there are no break clauses which would enable the council to surrender the lease.
“It is imperative that council taxpayers are told what the score is and that the council is transparent about its financial liabilities.
“So far, we have been told nothing – not even if specialist surveyors have been in to inspect the roof.
“An FOI request put in last November asking about that has not yet elicited a response with the council saying it is not in a position to respond. What’s the issue? Either surveyors have been or they haven’t. If not, when does the council hope they will arrive. If they have been in. What is the outcome? What repairs are needed and how much will they cost?”
Dr Hussain raised another point. He said: “All the stall holders I spoke are very happy with the new location and say that their takings are up because the new market hall is more visible and they benefit from passing trade. None of them want to go back if the roof is repaired.
“This means that the council could be left with a very expensive white elephant for which it is liable to pay rent for decades to come.”