Stockport council has revealed it spent nearly £900,000 on a revamp of the town’s grade II-listed food venue The Produce Hall.
The authority was ordered to release the figures by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), despite initially withholding the details citing a confidentiality clause and commercial sensitivities.
The ICO told the council it must comply with an FOI request from the Barratt family - who run the town's Foodie Friday event - by publishing how much it has invested in the hall, the expected financial return and the ‘due diligence’ it undertook in appointing an independent operator.
However they did not have to disclose specific contractual details or documentation submitted to council officers before a decision was arrived at
It follows a year-long campaign by the Barratts to force bosses to disclose the details after their bid to run the venue as a food hall was overlooked in favour of restaurateur Steve Pilling.
The family say they are pleased the council has now complied with the ICO’s ruling but 'disappointed that they tried for so long to withhold this information from the public'.
The authority has confirmed the total amount it invested in the Produce Hall -which it still owns - was £884,178.
The majority of this - more than £490,000 - was spent on ‘structural, mechanical and electrical work’ , while the cost of kitchen equipment came in at nearly £164,000 and ‘fit-out work’ just over £118,000.
Design, planning and project management fees came to almost £84,000, while legal, marketing and agency payments were just shy of £28,000.
The town hall stresses this was funded from a £7m pot for projects in the Markets and Underbanks area - not through council tax.
The building is also expected to generate rent ‘in the region of £1.5m over the next 15 years' and bosses say there has been a’ significant increase’ in the value of the hall due to the work undertaken.
The council says the transformation of The Produce Hall is also part of making the town centre a more attractive destination, making it difficult to put an exact value on the building.
Coun David Meller, cabinet Member for economy and regeneration at Stockport Council, said: “I understand the Produce Hall has been quite divisive for some. But behind this is a unifying theme: everyone passionately wants a town centre we can all be proud of. The question is ‘What’s the best way to get there?’
“I really believe the approach we’ve taken is working. The Produce Hall has created jobs, many of which have gone to those returning to work. We’ll see a solid return on our investment and we have a building that’s increased in value.
“But perhaps most importantly, the Produce Hall has helped give our Market Place a new lease of life: visit on a weekend and you’ll now see how busy it is.”
Coun Meller added that Stockport was now ‘stepping out of Manchester’s shadow’ and realising its ‘huge potential’ with a raft of regeneration schemes, including the Town Centre West redevelopment and the new transport interchange.
He added: “The Produce Hall is one piece of a rather big jigsaw we’re putting together. I welcome the scrutiny and look forward to trying to work with others to deliver a town centre we can all be incredibly proud of.”
On the question of due diligence the council says this was ‘carried out to the same level’ that it would on any property investment of the same kind - and this was applied to all bidders in the same way.
This included an Equifax check of their credit history, taking professional advice from our agents on the track record of the bidders and went through the council scrutiny committee and cabinet.
A council statement adds: “All the bids for The Produce Hall were scrutinised by a panel, which included two senior officers of the council with extensive property and development experience and a regional director for a major UK bank who provided experience into the likely success of business plans and models.
“On appointment of the successful tenant, the council continued to work with them through the design process and contractor procurement and management to ensure a cost-effective solution.”
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However, Joe Barratt, one of the organisers of Foodie Friday, says he welcomes the disclosure - but remains unhappy the council tried to keep the information out of the public domain.
He added: "Unbelievably, this included going to the lengths of agreeing to a clause within their contract with Steve Pilling to prevent any information about this deal from being released through freedom of information requests.
"We’re shocked that a Labour council would agree to this type of clause within a contract for a public asset with a private businessman, considering it goes against the very principles of transparency and accountability that the council say they stand for.
"The fact that we now know the council have invested nearly £1m of public money in The Produce Hall and Blackshaws, without going through a professional procurement process to ensure fair governance and oversight, is very concerning.
"While the council say they ‘believe’ they will make £1.5m over the next fifteen years, they haven’t provided us with any evidence to back this claim up. Considering our bid scored higher for financial criteria than Steve Pilling’s, when our rent offer was £30,000 a year plus a profit share, this statement seems difficult to believe. "
Mr Barratt says he would now like to see the council launch a review into the award of The Produce Hall contract.
He said: "Moving forward, considering that Coun David Mellor has stated he 'welcomes scrutiny', we call upon the chair of the economy and regeneration scrutiny committee, Coun Steve Gribbon, to launch a review of the whole process to find a new operator for The Produce Hall.
"This will ensure that the council learns from this process and can improve their procedures in the future, including how they deal with freedom of information requests from the public. "
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