By Gavin Mackintosh-
Croydon Council’s most senior former employees, including its former well paid CEO, Jo Negrini, were responsible for potentially unlawful conduct in the Town Hall’s arrangements with Brick by Brick, over the £70million Fairfield Halls fiasco, a recent report reveals.
In a Public Interest report by the council released on Thursday, external auditors, Grant Thornton, indicated a potential large-scale fraud over a licensing arrangement under which the refurb project on the arts complex was coupled to a land and development deal on the adjoining College Green for Brick by Brick.
The shocking findings of the report suggests a need for the Met or the Fraud Squad to investigate the roles played by Negrini, former executive directors like Richard Simpson, and former council legal officer, Jacqueline Harris-Baker. It is damning in every essence of the word, and reveals a pattern of incompetence, disregard, and recklessness. It also boarders on deceit.
The report says, “In our view, it is likely that the license did not reflect the underlying reality of the arrangements.”
“It is our view that the license was (at least in part) intended to circumvent procurement law and competitive tendering.”
A senior Labour figure today described as “insane” the initial decision by the council to grant the license to refurbish the Fairfield Halls to an untried and ill-qualified developer, which managed to see a £30million prestige project turned into a £70million “shitshow”.
The 32-page Report In The Public Interest was finally published today after an exceedingly long delay of many months.
It reveals a commissioning for a value-for-money review into Brick by Brick’s crass mismanagement of the Fairfield Halls refurbishment. What the auditors found quickly persuaded them to deliver a RIPI.
The report found compound errors of poor record-keeping and lax scrutiny, and the auditors carrying out the RIPI investigation were unable to track down essential legal documents that the council should have on file.
Also emerging from the report was a lack of proper procurement at the outset, with no schedule of required works, leading to an absence of proper budgeting and cost management.
The RIPI states, “Neither the council nor Brick by Brick have been able to provide a properly executed written conditional sale agreement (which would have been in place had Fairfield Halls been transferred to Brick by Brick in line with the land transfer option) or properly executed loan agreements covering the funds provided by the Council.
“Without properly executed written agreements key elements of the legal advice were not met.
“Further, it is our view that the council’s arrangement was at risk of challenge under procurement law as Brick by Brick was given a detailed specification of works (effectively amounting to a positive obligation to carry out the refurbishment) and the council did not assess whether Brick by Brick was not acting as an independent company, in line with the legal advice.
“In obtaining external legal advice and not fully considering or implementing that advice, it is our view that the council failed to ensure it was acting lawfully. We have not been provided with evidence of senior statutory officers updating cabinet formally on the legal risks emerging, considering how the emerging risks could be effectively mitigated or of the anticipated shortfall in funding… and the foreseeable implications.”
As one trusted Katharine Street source said today, “The council never dared to put the project or its management out to competitive tender, as they are supposed to, because if they did, Brick by Brick could never have been appointed.
“And the disaster that has happened to Croydon and the Fairfield Halls over the past six years is the result.”.
Hamida Ali, the current council leader said: ‘On the release of the report, Ali said, “Last year we raised serious concerns with the auditor about the historic management of the Fairfield Halls refurbishment which then led to this report.” In other words, “Nuffink to do with me, guv.”
Admitting that the arrangements for the Halls refurbishment “fell well short” of the standard required, Ali said, “I know that people across Croydon will be rightly angry to hear their money wasn’t safeguarded as it should have been and I want to apologise for that on behalf of the council.”
“Why the council would insanely want to go out of its way to appoint an inexperienced housing developer without a track record to refurbish an iconic arts venue with specialist requirements is never explored in the report.
“The risks built upwards from this unconventional and ill-advised approach and the mistakes and failure accumulated.”