Writing solely in my capacity as a councillor: Another dreadful report on Ally Pally has been published. It's known as 'Walklate 2' and is a follow up to a report commissioned into what went wrong at the Ally Pally in 2007, with the granting of a licence to Firoka (the firm that was trying to develop Ally Pally) that has cost Haringey taxpayers a staggering £1.5 million - at least.
You can read the report on the Council's website here. The councillor in charge was none other than Charles Adje, of previous post fame.
In terms of deciding what went wrong, at the centre of the new evidence in the report is a problem - the wildly conflicting accounts of Cllr Adje, and the then consultant manager, Keith Holder, as to who was driving the disastrous process forward.
Reading the evidence today, you have to conclude that one of them is so economical with the truth that he is in danger of creating their very own banking collapse.
What the report clearly shows (as if we didn't really know) is that the Ally Pally Board has always operated, not as a charity, but on a party political basis, with Labour councillors operating as a party cabal, and officials foolishly bending to their will.
We also know from today's report that Adje had separate, and quite possibly repeated, private dealings with Firoka. We'll probably never know what was decided or discussed at these meetings, but the Council, and other Labour councillors, probably knew about it - and did nothing to get it in hand.
The individual responsible for both the loss in Alexandra Palace and the Icelandic Bank investments is Councillor Adje. He is still in charge of the Borough's finances. That is simply not acceptable and in the face of this latest damning report he needs to resign.
Cllr Robert Gorrie
I'm glad Lib Dem Leader Robert Gorrie has today put the new Labour council leader on the spot about it, because it's time this catastrophe of a councillor was removed immediately from office.
What I find weird is that his Labour colleagues still put him in charge of the purse strings, and of the disposal of assets in the borough. He shouldn't be allowed anywhere near these responsibilities.
Pic: Fog at Ally Pally Park
1 comments:
Hear! Hear!
Councillor Adje's extraordinary letter to the Ham and High of 2 October 2008, which was actually reproduced in Walklate 2 (p.57 of the pdf) was full of jaw-dropping claims. He even says that he does not know how Mr Walklate's service came to be commissioned [for Walklate 1].
I read that letter with incredulity. Cllr. Adje said:
"I read with incredulity [the Ham&High's] comments on the Walklate Ally Pally report. To state that the whole deal was done behind closed doors is absurd"
... which remarks are of course, absurd.
One might almost say its "an oilslick of mendacity" (Neil's copyright!)
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