This morning the Strategy and Regeneration Scrutiny Committee voted by four votes to three to uphold the call-in of the decision to blow a six-figure sum of taxpayers’ money on the pink ice rink. The meeting was called by Liberal Democrat Councillors Steve Cooke and Joe O’Neill as well as myself from the Conservatives.
I was appalled by what came out at the meeting - the very model of dysfunctional decision-making process. The Council Leader was quite literally making it up as he went along. The figures were changed at will - the ticket sales estimate had mysteriously doubled over the course of the week without any evidence. Policing costs and fuel costs were not included anywhere. Worst of all, we had the emotional blackmail and the “Scrooge” jibes - but that only begs the question, why has the Council left it until November to decide what to do for Christmas? I have plenty of quarrels with Manchester City Council but you can’t fault their advance planning for Christmas - it would have been sorted out in the spring if not before.
I don’t object to the ice rink in principle, but the simple truth is that forking out a large six-figure sum for a pink ice rink does not provide value-for-money. Even at the top end of the ticket sales estimate, the taxpayer will be forking out £110000 to subsidise the rink - and that doesn’t include policing or fuel costs which are not in the documentation.
The Scrutiny Committee was absolutely right to uphold this call-in and the decision will now go to Council on Wednesday, where we will doubtless see the Labour whip applied firmly.
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