THE handling by borough council officials of the proposed redevelopment of the Woking FC stadium and the building of associated housing has been widely criticised by a cross-party task group of councillors.

A report by the task group to Woking Borough Council’s overview and scrutiny committee, due to be heard on Monday 15 June, lists a number of concerns regarding the project, including:

• due diligence appears “wholly inadequate”, having been conducted on a far too restricted basis
• little, if any, documentation has been uncovered to explain why the council offered the developer a £250 million loan
• the council’s decision to support the proposed development was given on unclear evidence regarding the financial state of the football club and a 25-year-old “policy” that had not been reviewed since
• no valuations had been conducted on the two major land purchases, in Kingfield and Egley Road, where the David Lloyd Club is to be relocated
• there were discrepancies in discussions and misunderstandings because no minutes were kept of more than 50 meetings council officials held over the development.

The task group concludes it cannot assure the O&S Committee, and therefore the council and residents, that appropriate due process has been applied in dealing with this major redevelopment proposal.

Councillor Deborah Hughes, who chairs the committee and also chaired the task group, said the importance of the scrutiny function of the committee is afforded by the law, acting as a check and balance.

“It has the right to examine council functions, to question how decisions have been made and to consider whether service improvement can be put in place,” she said.

“This is exactly what has happened in this case, with an examination of evidence and the putting forward of recommendations for how the council can improve its governance processes in the future.”

The task group report makes a number of recommendations about council officers’ future conduct in similar matters, aiming to ensure greater transparency and a clear audit trail.

“This report is damning on the decision-making process at Woking Borough Council,” said Hoe Valley councillor Will Forster.  “I hope the council’s overview and scrutiny committee supports this detailed and thorough report at its meeting on 15 June and that the planning application is rejected at the council’s planning committee.

“The plans to redevelop the football ground are inappropriate for the area, wrong for the club and come from a flawed decision-making process.”