Promoted by Jeremy Page on behalf of South West Hertfordshire Conservative Association both at Scotsbridge House, Scots Hill, Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire WD3 3BB
The legal dispute between Three Rivers District Council, W S Atkins (Project Manager and Designer) and Gee Construction (Building Contractor) over the construction of the ill-fated William Penn Leisure Centre was settled at a mediation hearing on the 15th January 2013.
The original project due to have cost £4.6 million will now exceed £9 million and the contractual dispute has lasted over 5 years. The true scale of the financial disaster has, however, been withheld from residents by the Councils failure to publish the terms of the settlement.
Conservative Councillors at Three Rivers are seeking full disclosure of
the agreement through a Freedom of Information Act Request. The Chief Executive has stated that the Council considers the information contained in the Agreement to be “exempt” from the Act. The Conservative Group have good reason to believe this to be incorrect and are challenging the Council’s assertion.
To force the Councils hand Conservative Councillors are also encouraging local residents and organisations to submit their own Freedom of Information Act requests.