UPDATED EVERY
FRIDAY
Last Update:
Friday 18th November, 2005
 
PUBLICATION
By JOEL TAYLOR
  
ISLINGTON
WEST END EXTRA
 
SECTIONS
MUSIC - CLASSICAL
MUSIC - GROOVES
THEATRE
RESTAURANTS
HEALTH
 
NAVIGATION


With Google
 
 
 
£580K MARKET SCHEME FLOP

We promise to do better next time, pledge City Hall bosses

CITY Hall wasted nearly £600,000 of taxpayers money on its binned scheme to redevelop Berwick Street, uncovered papers reveal.
And the Labour opposition at Westminster Council has called for an inquiry.
Following a Freedom of Information request made by the West End Extra asking how much was spent on the redevelopment, the council has admitted it spent £580,000 on consultants, architects, designers and planners.
The scheme was thrown out by the council’s planning committee in July – who described it as “a disgraceful application” – following stinging criticism from residents and businesses.
Among the most criticised aspects of the scheme was an untested automatic underground car park, the lack of consultation with residents and the uncertain future of the historic market.
In his letter to the paper, he wrote: “I can confirm that the total sum spent in relation to this scheme was £580,000.”
The Extra reported just three weeks ago that Westminster leader Councillor Simon Milton apologised for the scheme.
And head of property Miles Hooton admitted further apologies had been made by the deputy chief executive Joe Duckworth.
He wrote: “Mr Duckworth wrote to 300 residents and businesses to apologise for the failures of that scheme which left people confused and uncertain.”
Opposition leader Cllr Paul Dimoldenberg called for an inquiry to investigate how so much money was squandered. He said: “It is an unbelievable amount of money wasted by the council on a scheme comprehensively criticised by residents, businesses and even Conservative councillors.
“How on earth can the council just squandering this sort of money?”
He added: “There needs to be a full inquiry.”
A press official last night admitted mistakes had been made.
He said: “The council has already apologised for the way in which the Berwick Street scheme was presented and it clearly involved the loss of money.
“For that we are sorry. At the same time, the reason we were looking at Berwick Street is that people recognise work needs to be done.
“We now have to concentrate on getting it right this time.”
A Berwick Street advisory group has now been established and consultation on a future scheme is set to continue until the middle of next year.



Hopes of bypassing supermarket titans

WHAT have supermarkets done for us? They have enabled more of us to enjoy...
FULL STORY




Cheap tickets give us taste of the past

SOMETHING didn’t feel quite right as I hurried along a busy Seven Sisters Road on the way to the England...
FULL STORY
   
   
 
All content © New Journal Enterprises, 2005