Council extremely disappointed over transit site breach of confidentiality which cost taxpayers £25,000

INDEPENDENT Cllr. Neil Johnson has demanded answers over Warrington Borough Council’s claim that £25,000 of taxpayers money was spent on their plans to place a gypsy traveller transit site in Croft.

In response, the council says it is “extremely disappointed” over the transit site “breach of confidentiality” which cost £25,000 in agents and other fees.

The plans were scrapped following a campaign led by Cllr. Johnson and the local community, after the former Labour Party member leaked the proposed site at the former Kenyon Lane Nurseries, which the council says breached confidentiality.

In their statement announcing they were not proceeding with the site at Kenyon Lane , Warrington Borough Council said: “We have spent over £25,000 in preparing the option to acquire the site.”

Cllr. Johnson said:”The public have a right to know why £25,000 of taxpayers’ money has allegedly been spent on a secret plan that they would still know nothing about if I had not taken the decision to bring it to their attention. Where has this money gone?
“As far as we know, the Cabinet voted to proceed with the purchase of the site, despite no proper due diligence having been carried out over the access. All they had to do was call the access road owners and they would have found out very quickly that their plans were a no-go.
“But telephone calls to Croft do not cost £25,000. So what has our money been spent on?
“I am asking the Council to provide a full breakdown of this expenditure. We should have a full open and transparent analysis of the costs, with receipts. This is ratepayers’ money that has been squandered on an idiotic plan that could never have proceeded.
“If the Council had engaged properly with local residents, then they would have known that and they wouldn’t have needed to spend any monies at all. So I ask Warrington Council to come clean and show us where the £25,000 went! If they won’t come clean, then the external auditors and the Department of Local Government should become involved. We do not want any more shady skulduggery!”
He is also holding his fellow ward councillors’ feet to the fire, accusing them of “false valour”.

Cllr. Johnson said: “My fellow ward councillors Janet Seddon and Matt Smith have suddenly emerged from hiding to claim that they have been supporting residents affected by this proposal. We have seen no evidence of that in the community.”
“To his credit, Councillor Smith attended the last meeting of Croft Parish Council, but Councillor Seddon was nowhere to be seen. To try and pretend that they are responsible for this proposal being withdrawn is a fine example of false valour. It is a shameless stunt and we expect better.”
“The Council’s own statement made it clear that it was the campaign I launched which eventually forced them into retreat. Councillors Smith and Seddon say they “engaged with decision-makers”, but there does not seem to be any evidence of that. The Council do not attribute their change of heart to either of them. They are obviously not as effective as they would have us believe!”
“I hope both Councillors Smith and Seddon will join me in getting to the bottom of how this £25,000 has been spent. I am sure they will agree that if public money has been wasted, their Labour colleagues should pay back every penny from their own pockets or else have it deducted from their allowances. Come on Councillors, what do you say?”

In response Cllr. Matt Smith said: “I stand by our previous statement. Residents can continue to raise their concerns with Cllr Seddon and I as they have been doing over the past couple of weeks. They can reach us on CllrJanet.Seddon@warrington.gov.uk and CllrMatt.Smith@warrington.gov.uk. We will raise any concerns through appropriate channels ensuring Residents voices are heard and listened to.”

A Warrington Borough Council spokesperson said: “As a member of the Cross-Party Working Group – established specifically to identify a potential travellers transit site – Cllr Neil Johnson was fully aware of our approach, and knew that costs were being incurred, including payments to agents and other fees. This is completely normal when seeking to identify and purchase a site. There will always be costs involved in complex processes such as this, and all proper procedure was followed.
“The option to acquire the site, which itself would be subject to planning consent and independent scrutiny by the Secretary of State, would have involved extensive consultation with the local community, as part of a transparent process. We are extremely disappointed about the breach of confidentiality which has caused such upset and undermined this process.
“We remain committed to delivering a suitable transit site to support the management and reduction of unauthorised encampments in our borough, and we will continue to search for an alternative suitable site.”