Mike
Edwards, chair of Keep Llangollen Special (pictured right), sat in as an impartial observer at
Monday’s meeting of the Welsh Assembly’s public accounts committee held at
Llangollen Pavilion.
The committee heard evidence from some of those involved about the acquisition
and subsequent attempts to dispose of the former River Lodge in Llangollen.
Mike has
written this report for llanblogger:
“I attended the committee meeting
in Llangollen on Monday afternoon which was extremely well attended my members
of the public and additional chairs had to be put out to accommodate all
interested parties.
The first
witness was Mr Pol Wong, who is chair and chief executive of Powys Fadog the
not for profit community organisation who had intended to use the River Lodge (former
Woodlands Hotel) as a local facility to run martial arts and other courses
which Mr Wong said were beneficial to
peoples's health and welfare.
Mr Wong
outlined to the committee a lengthy saga of his organisation endeavouring to
lease the property and stated that initially the organisation had received a
great deal of support from the Welsh Government and had reached an advanced
stage of agreeing terms and conditions for Powys Fadog to acquire the a lease
of the premises.
He also
mentioned that there had been negotiations with Clwyd Alyn Housing Association
for them to develop part of the site for social housing.
Mr Wong
said he was initially very happy with discussions and assistance he had
received from officials from Welsh Government, but became frustrated at the
length of time each step in the process had taken.
Powys
Fadog had drawn up a business lan for the project and costed the planned
refurbishment works to the property, but these costs kept increasing as the
delay on finalising the acquisition of the building by Welsh Government and
agreeing the lease dragged on.
Suddenly
the Welsh Government withdrew from the project, but did not formally advise him
why and then failed to communicate with Powys Fadog.
He said
he was not advised of apparent legal problems which had arisen and he had
actually been living in part of the premises as a caretaker to prevent
vandalism, but was then locked out and made homeless.
Mr Wong
was also questioned about the appointment of Amanda Brewer, a Welsh Government official,
as a director and company secretary to Powys Fadog.
He said
that he had been advised that Amanda was authorised to take up this role and
that she was very experienced in dealing with community projects and able to
bring skills to the organisation which they did not have.
The next
witness was Amanda Brewer, who was a chartered surveyor with the Welsh
Government (WG) and originally with the Welsh Development Agency (WDA) which
was absorbed into the Welsh Government.
She
outlined to the committee the history of the project as far as her involvement
was concerned, which included initial discussions with Powys Fadog and the
acquisition of the property by Welsh Government from a third party.
She
pointed out that there had been some confusion when the WDA was absorbed into
Welsh Government Departmental structure and felt that staff were not briefed
fully about changes in policies and procedures adopted by WG.
She also
said that the acquisition of the property took place at a time when the
property market was buoyant and that the purchase was completed to enable the department
to spend that year's financial allocation and that, although an informal
valuation was obtained from the District Valuer, a formal report was not
received until after the acquisition was completed.
She said
that it was quite common for the Land Division to undertake entrepreneurial
acquisitions which had a risk factor attached to them.
Amanda
Brewer then gave evidence in relation to a possible conflict of interest that
she had by joining the board of Powys Fadog and stated that this had been
authorised by her line-manager and his superior.
She also
said that it was common for Welsh Government staff to be encouraged to donate
their skills and experience to community organisations and that following her
appointment as a director and company secretary of Powys Fadog she had
withdrawn from negotiating the terms of the transaction, which were passed over
to a colleague.
She then
limited her role to that of project manager, but did admit that she had sent e-mails
on behalf of Powys Fadog to other Welsh Government Departments using her Welsh
Government e-mail address.
She said
that it was department policy to allow staff to use their work e-mail address
for a "handful" of private non-Welsh Government correspondence.
Amanda was
asked by one of the committee members if she felt that she had been made a
scapegoat and she agreed with this and said that she could go further by saying
that taking action against her was the only way the project with Powys Fadog
could be cancelled by Welsh Government.
She had
been subjected to disciplinary action which had resulted with her been
dismissed from her post.
The final
witness of the day was Mr Gareth Hall, former director of economy and transport
at Welsh Government who was head of the department in which Amanda Brewer was
employed.
Mr Hall
denied that staff had not been properly briefed about changes in policy and
procedures when the WDA was absorbed into Welsh Government.
He also
claimed that he had been advised categorically by senior members of his staff
that Amanda Brewer did not have a "conflict of interest" and said
since he managed such large department he accepted the assurances he had been
given.
He said that later when he became aware of issues with this
transaction it became clear to him that Amanda Brewer did have a conflict of
interest and he initiated disciplinary procedure which resulted in her being
dismissed.”
Mike Edwards
Mike Edwards
