Lyme Green probe cost £225,000

CHESHIRE East Council has admitted it spent £225,000 on an investigation into the Lyme Green waste facility fiasco.

It made the declaration as part of a policy of “being more open and transparent” but said the report must remain confidential.

The waste facility near Macclesfield was scrapped last year at a cost to the taxpayer of around £800,000.

An internal report found construction work had started without planning permission, and the authority had failed to follow EU procurement rules, and approved funding without proper authority.

Another report commissioned by the council and led by a “designated independent person” – public sector lawyer Malcolm Illey – looked into allegations about the actions of a number of senior staff. It was presented to the council before Christmas and since then three executives have left the authority.

Council Leader Councillor Michael Jones said: “In setting up this independent investigation, we wanted to ensure that there was a full and robust account of what had actually taken place in relation to Lyme Green. We knew in advance that the use of a designated independent person (DIP) would not be a cheap option but, given the level of public concern about the matter, we felt this was a necessary price to pay.

“We have worked closely with the DIP, which has enabled the time taken to complete the review to be shortened, as well as giving us very clear outcomes in his comprehensive report. Actions have been taken or are in hand on all these recommendations. We have also engaged the services of an expert legal adviser to assist this process, particularly in supporting the work of our staffing sub-committee, which considered the report of the DIP. The full costs of all this vital work have now been identified as £225,000.

“As promised earlier, we will shortly issue a summary of the findings of the DIP, whose report must remain confidential, and this will demonstrate that we have acted on the lessons to be learned from these unusual events. My hope would be that we can now draw a line under this episode and move forward more positively to deliver the very best services we can for the people of Cheshire East.”