Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council (04C15634 & 16967)
Leisure and culture Maladministration causing injustice
27 June 2006
‘Mr Ash’ (on behalf of ‘Forest’, a local residents’ association) and ‘Mr Yew’ complain that the Council:
- failed to properly pursue outside funding for Stage Two of a project to improve a local Council-owned sports ground (‘HOME’) and instead wrongly secretly concentrated on supporting a similar rival and private sector bid (‘AWAY’);
- misled and failed to inform HOME’s steering group about progress with its pursuit of outside funding and its change of priority; and
- unreasonably suspended HOME’s steering group without proper explanation and reformed it in an unfair way which deliberately omitted some original members.
They say that, as a result, at best completion of the project has been significantly delayed and at worst the project will not now be completed. They allege that representatives of Forest, including Mr Ash, have been unfairly excluded from the new steering group.
The Ombudsman finds that the Council did not wrongly and secretly support the AWAY bid. It openly supported both bids in accordance with its Playing Pitch Strategy.
However, there is strong evidence that the Council failed to keep the steering group properly informed. They were misled that a grant application for HOME had been submitted to the Football Foundation. Perhaps more importantly, they were not told at the time about key developments in October and November 2003, nor about the decision to pursue a formal grant application on behalf of AWAY but not on behalf of HOME. This was maladministration which gave the steering committee false hope of receiving grant funding and perhaps made them too complacent.
HOME’s steering group was effectively suspended in February 2004, but its members were not told this. The members, some of whom had put in several years work, deserved an explanation for the suspension. The Ombudsman finds nothing wrong with the way the steering group was reformed.
There is also evidence of maladministration when the Council stopped work on the HOME project for over six months in 2004. The Council has gone some way to make up for this subsequently by approving a £50,000 capital grant which it is hoped will facilitate gaining another £100,000 from external sources. This is for a smaller scheme than was originally planned.
The Ombudsman considers that the publication of this report and the publicity it will receive is an appropriate remedy for the maladministration identified. She hopes that the Council will see fit to tender appropriate apologies. It should re-offer a place on HOME’s steering group to Forest and review its procedures to ensure accurate information is given in situations like this.
Date Updated: 14/01/09