Cost of unitary appeal revealed
Saturday 29th March 2008, 11:30AM GMT.
Shropshire County Council has been landed with costs of more than £116,000 as a result of the legal action to try to halt the move to unitary status.
Earlier this month a last-ditch attempt to prevent Shropshire’s unitary bid failed in the Court of Appeal.
Congleton Borough Council, supported by Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council, appealed against a High Court judicial review decision last year which paved the way for Shropshire having a unitary authority.
From next April the county, district and borough councils in Shropshire will effectively merge. The county council’s response to the legal challenges has left it with total “quantifiable” costs of £116,143.
But on top of this will be “significant” costs of copying and preparing the bundles of legal papers for the court hearings.
Leader Malcolm Pate has released figures in response to a formal question from Councillor Alan Mosley.
He has been asked to supply full details of all costs associated with the unitary judicial review process and consequent appeal.
Barristers’ fees for attending hearings, preparing for them and giving “extensive advice” was £96,675.
The cost of the time spent by the council’s own solicitors on responding to the challenges is put at at more than £17,600.
On top of this, their accommodation costs in attending the London hearings came to £772.
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Of course, if councillors Greedy, Wantitall and Gravy-Train, aided and abetted by A. Bloated-Bureaucrat had not whined to the government to be made into a Mega Council, then the cost would have been nothing at all.
But if you think the £116,000 is a lot of money just look back in ten years time and see how much extra the low cost unitary authority will be costing you.
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“Shropshire County Council has been landed with costs of more than £116,000 as a result of the legal action to try to halt the move to unitary status.”
No they haven’t – as ever the bill will be paid by the council tax payers. And at least as far as the officers are concerned, quite a few of them don’t even live in Shropshire and pay taxes here.
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And how long ago was it they were telling us this “Unitary” lark was going to SAVE us money?
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