Marcus Wood

Wheels fall off the Deals from Hell

The Liberal Democrats are famous for having made some of the daftest decisions in Torbays history including suddenly deciding to close down half our public toilets, putting council tax up so much the Government stepped in, causing outcry by awarding themselves a 63% pay rise and trying to close down several local schools ignoring angry parent protests.

But less well known is the fact that Torbay Lib Dems have also signed up to some eye-wateringly bad business deals, including the recent NCP fiasco, which will leave a financial legacy for years to come.

First Liberal Democrats paid for an ‘independent’ parking study - by a firm of consultants owned by the car parks operator NCP!

Then they awarded the deal to manage car parking in Torbay to –guess who? That’s right, NCP!

Next they spent £700,000 to house the new department, even though the council had other empty offices and a massive debt problem.

Now we learn that the ‘self funding’ deal will actually mean taxpayers forking out millions in fees to NCP unless local residents pay for parking permits as well!

Worst of all, in spite of thousands of complaints Torbay residents are stuck with NCP’s money-grabbing traffic Wardens for at least another five years and council tax payers will be paying EXTRA for the privilege.

PS Due to a breakdown of my Broadband system (offline for a month and counting) my ability to update the site and add photo's has been severely constrained. Please bear with me - BT ASSURE me that all will be resolved by next Thursday, we live in hope (thats what they told me last week, and the week before...)