Liberal Democrats leader Cllr Carl Cashman has claimed that the council should have ‘scrutinised the decision’ after it announced plans to buy Smithdown Lane Police station.
The council announced last week that it would move ahead with the development of the former police station to continue the regeneration of Paddington Village in the Knowledge Quarter.
The announcement started a political row as the opposition Liberal Democrats challenged the move, specifically the secrecy around the project as there was no pre-decision scrutiny by the culture and economy committee.
Before the budget meeting on Wednesday, Cllr Cashman told MerseyNewsLive: “Our issue with it isn’t the redevelopment because we think it should go ahead, it was the transparency and the secrecy around the process.
“From the start it has been completely opaque, and the council should’ve scrutinised the decision and then brought it to the cabinet”
This was before the budget meeting, where protests over the closure of two leisure centres in the city took place.
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Cllr Cashman added that his original issues with the project was that the council made the decision behind closed doors and didn’t specify where the money came from.
He said: “We didn’t know where the money was coming from, now we know it’s coming from the government.
“That is completely fine, we want to make sure the council doesn’t go over-budget, and the residents and councillors are kept informed.”
Labour Councillor Nick Small said: “The police station has been earmarked for years by the council – the buildings and green space is very important for the development of south Paddington Village.
“It is crucial that the council has influence over this land to for good quality jobs and life sciences it will create an ecosystem to help life sciences”.
Additional Reporting: Amy Coulson
Featured image (c) Kate Farley
