Council hopes to re-claim £1m lost by mismanagement

An internal investigation by Dorset Council led to the sacking of 11 external staff

A council has said it can recover at least £1m lost through the mismanagement of a project set up to update and repair council properties.

An internal investigation by Dorset Council led to the sacking of 11 external staff who had been brought in to oversee work.

The scheme had a multimillion-pound budget and claims have been made that contracts were awarded for work, without going through the proper procedures, often at over-inflated prices.

Council leader Nick Ireland said steps were underway for the council to re-claim at least £1m.

Dorset Police is still investigating for possible criminal offences.

Mr Ireland said a review was underway by a cross-party group, led by Chickerell councillor Simon Clifford, to look at what he described as "the highly challenging and complex set of circumstances".

Councillor Ireland said he hoped the review would lead to learning about what went wrong and how the council could avoid similar mistakes in the future.

"All councillors will get a chance to air their concerns in a public meeting which is being arranged," he added.