How much BCP Council spent on due diligence for Barclays House

A Freedom of Information request submitted by the Echo reveals BCP Council spent £115,656.09 figuring out their options with the iconic building. 

Opposition councillors have said it has been a “complete waste of money”, but council leader Drew Mellor argues it was “needed”. 

Cllr Vikki Slade slammed the leadership’s record of spending money on failed projects, including Barclays House, £120,000 on the KPMG reports for the beach huts, £50,000 for a free port and £20,000 for the bid for city status. 

Read more: BCP Council will NOT continue to buy Barclays House

Barclays House

“We must be approaching three quarters of a million pounds in the last couple of years on projects that don't go anywhere,” Cllr Slade said. 

“This is not their money; it’s our money. They probably could have taken the old estate manager out for a cup of coffee and found out the information that it was not worth buying.  

“I'm very keen to see these reports. I want to see what it is that put them off. Because if it's stuff that most of us who live in Poole could have told them, I will be very very cross. So we shall see whether Mr. Carr goes ahead and buys it.”  

Cllr Lesley Dedman said the money has not been well spent, adding: “We should never have even thought about this venture in the first place as it was always a ridiculous idea. 

Read more: Fortitudo's Richard Carr to pursue his purchase of Barclays House

“We’re short in other services and we are told to cut in other services and departments are busy trying to balance their budgets, then our leader wants to spend that amount of money on a vanity project.” 

Cllr Stephen Bartlett added it is “disappointing” leadership has “wasted” £115k, adding: “I don’t know what made them decide to take up the opportunity. Nobody has provided any rationale whatsoever for why they may be interested in the building. 

“It was not on Bournemouth Development Company’s radar or FuturePlaces’. It’s £115,000 of taxpayer’s money wasted on a wasted venture.” 

Barclays House (Image: NQ)

Previously, the council had put aside £195,000 to complete the due diligence for Barclays House, but last month Cllr Mellor said he will not be submitting a formal bid for the building. 

Cllr Drew Mellor, BCP Council leader, said the opportunity to explore the building’s purchase was one to explore, adding: “To do this responsibly, we needed to complete detailed due diligence to fully understand the investment needed to bring the building back into use.  

“This valuable work helped inform our subsequent decision not to submit a formal bid for the site.”