Questions remain over Britannia sale

A LONG-AWAITED report into a council's decision to sell its shares in the Britannia Stadium has been criticised for leaving key questions unanswered.

Stoke-on-Trent City Council released an internal audit report on the sale of its 36 per cent stake in the former community stadium, which it helped to finance in 1997, for £4.5 million.

The report concluded councillors were not told the money would be paid by Stoke City Football Club in three annual instalments.

As part of the deal, it emerged the club pledged to set up initiatives to benefit the community to the tune of £500,000.

The audit report stopped short of singling out any members or senior officers for blame.

But members of the council's audit committee, who discussed the report released on January 28 yesterday, said they were still no closer to understanding important aspects of the agreement made with Stoke City in December 2007.

They said the report failed to address:

What happened to the £500,000 which Stoke City had earmarked for community benefit.

Why £480,000 was paid to the council in the form of a share dividend, and whether this was legal.

Why former elected mayor Mark Meredith was never interviewed about his role in the deal.

Councillor Peter Kent-Baguley said he was concerned the report seemed to have had no clear terms of reference from the outset.

He said: "I've said before I felt this report would not be worth the paper it was written on by the time it came out, and I am still of the same opinion.

"Two years on, we still haven't got a community facilities plan for a significant part of the money and that should be condemned in the strongest possible terms by this committee. "I have no faith we will ever get to the bottom of this."

Councillor Mike Barnes, below left, who originally requested the Britannia Stadium inquiry, said: "I have some sympathy with the authors of this report, because of the passage of time and the fact any semblance of accountability has disappeared along with the people who are no longer here."

Councillor Mick Salih said members should take some responsibility for not scrutinising the stadium deal more thoroughly at the time.

He said: "We are finding things coming home to roost now and we are the ones who have got to put it all right."

District auditor Grant Paterson said the internal audit was ordered by former interim council manager Chris Harman.

However, he plans to publish his own report on the stadium deal later this month.

He said: "I could have used my powers to investigate this matter, but there would have been a significant cost to the council.

"It was felt it would be more effective for internal auditors to undertake the review. I have picked up on questions councillors have raised and they will be addressed in my report, which will be based on the published internal audit report, plus my own investigations."

After receiving a leaked copy of the audit, The Sentinel reported last month how the authority missed out on £180,000 in interest payments under the instalment scheme.

The council received a dividend payment of £480,000, £1.52 million and then two payments of £1.25 million over two years to December 2009 – leaving the council missing out on £180,000 in interest payments if it had received the £4.5 million upfront and invested the money in a bank account.

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