Liberal Democrats in the London Borough of Haringey have expressed their anger about a decision to support recommendations submitted to the ruling Labour Executive last week (5th October) that would see Haringey Council fork out an additional £1 million of Haringey tax payers’ money to manage the process of selling off Alexandra Palace.

The request from the Alexandra Park and Palace Board for an additional £1 million had not been submitted as a formal agenda item, but as Urgent Business. The Executive was informed that this sum is required to manage the ‘risk’ of the project and to cover legal, financial, construction, property management and project management expenses during 2004/05 and 2005/06. These services would be supplied by Arup, the company the Alexandra Palace and Park Board propose to appoint to manage the procurement process for the redevelopment of the Palace.

The Lib Dems are concerned that this huge additional cost has not been properly explained or justified by the Board to the Labour-run Council. In addition, the process of selection of the company Arup is not clarified.

However, the Lib Dems’ greatest concern is about accountability. The Executive member for Finance confirmed at the meeting that the Alexandra Palace Board would scrutinise Arup’s use of taxpayer’s money and not the elected and accountable council, although Haringey Council is ‘corporately’ the trustee.

Lib Dem Deputy Leader Wayne Hoban, who attended the meeting, said:

“It is somewhat ironic that a few short months after the Mayor’s election campaign statement that he would ‘save Ally Pally’, we have a Labour run council prepared to pay over £1 million in fees to advisers on a sell-off.

“This was brought to the Executive without notice, without any clarity into the rationale of the selection process, and without ensuring that the councillors as elected members of the trustee body have an opportunity to scrutinise the process. It is clear that Labour remain desperate to sell-off the Palace whatever the cost to taxpayers.”