At last night’s Sefton Council meeting Conservatives on Sefton Council called for greater transparency and respect for local taxpayers on the £73 million MLEC development in Southport.
The majority of Southport councillors supported these calls, however Labour councillors rejected them.
Conservative Leader on Sefton Council, Mike Prendergast said, “The MLEC project is hugely important for Southport and the wider area, and has the potential to contribute significantly to our local economy. We all want to see this project succeed and local businesses, who are struggling with increasing taxation and a sluggish economy, want to see the benefits from this project as soon as possible too.”
“Right now though, we can’t get away from the fact that Sefton Council has failed to secure a contractor. So far, around £13 million has been spent and we don’t have somebody lined up to build it. This is taxpayer money and the current Labour administration policy of shrouding the whole project in secrecy and obfuscation, with councillors and local people only learning what’s going on via the media isn’t acceptable.”
Two national contractors, Kier and Graham Construction, have walked away from negotiations with Sefton Council to build the facility. There is now the very real prospect that Sefton Council will have to borrow more money to complete the project.
Conservative Deputy Leader on Sefton Council, Tony Brough, said during the meeting, “It’s going to cost more money, and that money, one way or the other, whether it’s borrowed or not, will be funded by the people of Southport.”
Sefton Council have yet to announce details of the third contractor they hope to secure for the project and with the budget for Sefton Council yet to be decided for future years, it remains to be seen how much more Sefton Labour plan to borrow and how much this could end up costing local taxpayers.
Concluding, Mike Prendergast said, “Southport deserves better than what we see at the moment, the MLEC project needs to be delivered for our town and with so many other big projects planned, it’s important we get this right to secure our town’s financial future.”
