WARRINGTON North MP Helen Jones and leisure and lifestyles company LiveWire have again clashed over the Great Sankey Hub project.
The MP says she is “astonished” after discovering that LiveWire had a firm building the hub without a signed contract in place.
But LiveWire says it was satisfied that adequate contractual arrangements were in place before building work commenced.
Ms Jones says documents she has seen show that the cost of building the hub rose from £11 million in 2015 to £19 million by July this year.
In addition, the project was under construction without the firm involved having a signed contract with LiveWire.
She said the documents were a “damning indictment” of the community interest company.
“No one should ever allow work on a project to begin without having a valid contract in place and the audit and the escalating costs of the development show that they are incapable of managing a project properly. The estimated costs have almost doubled in 2 years.”
Noting that the borough council had now taken over the project the MP added: “It is clear that LiveWire is incapable of doing its job and whether it will be able to repay these funds through a commercial rent must be in doubt.
“There is a real issue here about people spending public money but not being accountable when things go wrong. People can sack their councillor or their MP if they disagree with what they’ve done but the LiveWire board sails on regardless.
“I shall be seeking an opportunity to raise this issue in Parliament.”
A spokesperson from LiveWire, said: “All partners involved in the project were satisfied that adequate contractual arrangements were in place prior to the commencement of any building works”.
A concept drawing of Great Sankey Neighbourhood Hub
MP and LiveWire clash over hub project
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4 Comments
Prior to this report all we, the public, knew was that this project (leakage would be a more apt noun) increased from the original figure of £6.3 million plus a further £4.5 million to accelerate the works and another increase (because they suddenly discovered the roof beams had deteriorated “as was only to be expected” – or words to that effect) bringing the then total up to £16 million. Now, if this report turns out to be fact, we hear the current cost will be £19 million, after even more project management “skills & expertise” from other WBC associates had been brought to bear. The original budget has almost trebled.
Not sure where the MP gets the £19m figure from. It was £16m the last I heard – which I accept is still a big increase. But it would appear the MP is somewhat fixated about LiveWire so I’m not inclined to take too much notice of what she says on this issue
We should all, residents, council taxpayers, councillors and MPs, be concerned at the manner in which this project appears to be being mismanaged given the anodyne public comments coming from those closely involved/managing as the successive increases from £6.5 million through to £16 million were announced. It is after all our money and should to be spent prudently (shades of Gordon Brown), and those spending/controlling it should be up up front, not obscure, on the true level of expenditure. Hopefully the latest figure of £19 million may not be factual.
Is Helen Jones MP, actually an MP, here to work her socks off for the town? Or is Helen Jones MP just some kind of investigative journalist who spends her time scouring council documents and papers, looking for ways in which to attack local organisations? It’s very difficult to say. Maybe when local Labour members in the various local branches decide that enough is enough and that it’s finally time to dump her, she can maybe take up a post parliamentary career as a manager at Livewire, solving all of the issues that she gleefully raises.