Conwy council empty building bill approaches £1m

Standing empty... the council signed a deal to use a building at Mochdre Commerce Park in 2016

A council which has spent nearly £1m on hiring a building it cannot use is being reviewed by a spending watchdog.

Conwy council signed a lease in 2016 for three units on a business park in Mochdre, near Colwyn Bay, to house its gritters and bin lorries.

It found the floor was not strong enough while fitting out the unit, but the deal stands.

The Wales Audit Office (WAO) confirmed it was reviewing the way the council manages major projects and contracts.

Conwy council is currently locked into a £240,000-a-year lease agreement with service charges on top for at least another 11 years.

So far, this has cost the authority just over £845,000, plus at least £90,000 paid to a firm of solicitors to write a report into the debacle, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Council leader Sam Rowlands said the report was a "very sobering read, with many parts highlighting weaknesses in our processes".

While the council has refused to publish the report, the WAO has seen it and has launched a review of all project management and procurement by the council.

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A WAO spokeswoman said: "We are not minded to undertake specific audit work in respect of the lease arrangement at this point of time.

"However, we reserve the right to do so in the future if matters come to our attention that were not considered by the external review, or we consider that there are issues that should be brought to the attention of the public."

A spokeswoman for Conwy council said the authority welcomes "external feedback", adding that staff roles had been clarified and a new system of checks and balances introduced.

She admitted the lease "had not been subject to the same governance process" as with other major contracts.

"This is what led to steps being missed when we entered into the new arrangement at Mochdre," she said.

Business rates paid on the site have been recovered and the council said it was continuing to negotiate with the owner of the site over the lease.