Chesterfield Borough taxpayers hit as Labour controlled council loses control of costs

Cllr Alexis Diouf, Chesterfield Libdem council group leader, has condemned Labour's financial failure in Chesterfield saying:

"The costs of making proposed changes to Chesterfield Town Hall have already soared by over 300% even though no work at all has yet been done.

The original estimate of costs was £850,000 but that has now skyrocketed to a massive £2.74m before any work has even started.

Labour Town Hall Bosses claim that the work could eventually bring in up to £240,000 a year in rental income from 2020. They conveniently don't point out that it would take up to 13 years before that speculative annual income would be equal to the massive £2.74m debt plus any incurred interest charges.

That means it would be around 2033 before local residents saw any net financial gain even if Labour hit their income target which, given their failure to predict costs, is extremely unlikely, to say the least.

How can they possibly be so hopelessly wrong that their cost estimates have increased by over 300% before a single workman has started work ? Of course, this is not the only example of their incompetence.

Queen's Park Leisure Centre is still standing derelict nearly a year after it closed and the estimated costs of demolition have already soared from £92,000 to £265,000 -another 300% increase and again before a single piece of work has actually commenced.

How much more financial failure can Chesterfield residents take?"