Council's £3m loans to shopping centre 'called-in'

Opposition parties are concerned a council is issuing loans totalling £3m to help renovate a shopping centre.

West Northamptonshire Council, led by the Conservatives, recently announced plans to issue two loans to Northampton's Grosvenor Shopping Centre.

A loan of up to £2m would help develop a modern H&M store. A second loan of £1m would create "flexible workspaces". Supporters believe it will enhance the town centre.

But the decision has been "called-in" by opposition councillors, meaning it will be debated at a meeting of the authority's scrutiny committee.

Wendy Randall, leader of the council's Labour group, said: "We had so many questions over these agreements that we couldn't let it pass without the proper scrutiny.

"As a council, we need to make sure we're spending money correctly."

The Grosvenor Centre suffered a blow this year when Next closed. A replacement has not yet been announced.

Jonathan Harris, deputy leader of the council's Liberal Democrats group, said: "We have supported this call-in to ensure that taxpayers have the chance to fully understand if this decision is acceptable and to scrutinise the detail."

At a meeting earlier this month, the Conservative leader of the council, Adam Brown, said he had reservations about the loans, but his "mind was put at ease by the level of security being sought for the loan - you couldn't mitigate the risk any more in my view".

In a statement, West Northamptonshire Council said: "In accordance with the Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rules, the decision regarding the Grosvenor Centre and Belgrave House Agreement, taken by the Cabinet on 10 December, has been called in for review.

"The Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee will convene an extraordinary meeting on 20 January to consider this call-in.

"The outcome and decision will be published following the committee's review."

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