ABERCONWY AM welcomes further scrutiny of Llandudno North Shore Beach works.
Speaking ahead of Conwy County Borough Council Communities Scrutiny Committee debate on the report of the decision to dump cobble rock onto Llandudno, North Shore, Assembly Member for Aberconwy, Janet Finch-Saunders AM said:
“At long last, democratically elected members will have the opportunity to further scrutinise the process that has resulted in children, the elderly and those with a disability unable to access our beach.”
The Council’s Internal Audit Committee has already reported previously on this but concerns remain over the distinct lack of due process that took place at the time of the contract approval.
She added:
“The lack of consultation and rushed decision to dump 5,000 tonnes of rock on to our beautiful beach, caused mayhem within the town, to such an extent that a campaign group was formed and a public meeting held that saw over 850 people come along to raise their own concerns and to challenge the council.
“In particular, the use of a round robin of emails to extend the term for the preferred contractor was in itself highly irregular, as the Council's own contract standing orders mentions that contracts over a million pounds must go before the Cabinet.
Furthermore, it was quite a bizarre decision for the Cabinet Member at the time, Cllr Mike Priestley to take a report forward to Cabinet seeking permission to appoint the contractors, long after they had moved off the site as this was a contract costing some 1.5 million pounds.
The finer details around the procurement processes used are of great interest to many of those who attended the public meeting and these questions must be answered.
Given that further maintenance is now required to mitigate some of the problems arising from the previous works, again costing the taxpayer more, it is essential that transparency, financial proberty and democratic accountability is embedded within all decisions taken.
This scrutiny report will be considered along with other investigations into this matter and I therefore look forward to a full and comprehensive report"
Former Chairman of the local campaign group, Restore Our Beach, Ian Turner added:
“The public need, want and deserve clarity.”
“The Scrutiny Committee must be open, transparent and prove accountability for what happened during that process.”
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