Sell-off of Humberston Fitties chalet park was 'almighty clanger' says Cleethorpes councillor

     

Cllr Parkinson - were prime tourism sites sold too cheaply?

A LONG-SERVING Cleethorpes councillor has claimed the sell-off by North East Lincolnshire Council of the Humberston Fitties chalet park was an "almighty clanger".

At a meeting of the borough's audit and governance committee, Cllr Bill Parkinson went on to demand far more rigorous market scrutiny in future before the authority sold off its assets.

"My understanding is that we could have secured twice the amount that was paid by Tingdene to acquire the site," he declared.

The transaction went through when the council was under Labour control, and the then leader, Cllr Chris Shaw, deemed the Fitties a non-core asset and hence ripe for disposal.

Cllr Parkinson claimed there had been another "clanger" - namely the sell-off many years earlier, probably in the 1990s, of the land where the former Pleasure Island theme park is situated.

"How did that go through?" he demanded. "I never was able to find out.

"That's two extensive areas of prime tourism land that have passed from our hands."

The comments came after his Conservative colleague, Cllr Keith Brookes, who also represents the Haverstoe ward, warned of the risks of selling off "the family silver."

However, a different perspective came from other councillors who said NELC needed to sell off assets, such as surplus buildings, rather than allowing them to fall into disuse and decay.

Another Conservative member of the committee, Cllr Hayden Dawkins, referred to one instance where the council had been so tardy in the process of selling one site that the prospective purchaser was obliged to pull out of the deal because an offer of external funding had been withdrawn.

The Grimsby News says: Cllr Parkinson is being unfair to the council on which he serves. There was no clamour of opposition when the Fitties chalet park was put on the market because it was well known at the time that the site required major capital investment that NELC could ill afford. There was nothing amiss about the marketing, and other companies explored purchase options but, for whatever reason, decided not to proceed. Tingdene decided to take the risk and doubtless paid what, at the time, was undoubtedly deemed a full and fair price.