Former Mansfield mayors defend investment decisions after £19m bill for London building

Mansfield Council is now facing a bill of about £19 million to resolve the problem, despite only spending £5.95m on the property when the investment purchase went through in January 2017.

The building, on Bedford Road, Clapham, was bought under the Mansfield Independent Forum administration, led by Kate Allsop, who was mayor from 2015-19.

However, the initial decisions to purchase the property and allocate the funds were made during 2014/15, when the authority was under the control of mayor Tony Egginton.

The purchase was one of many out-of-town investments made by the MIF as a way of being ‘creative’ in finding extra cash to prop up services.

Mrs Allsop and Mr Egginton have defended MIF’s decision to invest in the building and other out-of-town venues, insisting the purchase was one of many ways the council found additional income to shore up budgets.

Mrs Allsop said, while the decision to buy the Clapham property was not taken by herself, professional advice was provided to council officers when making investments of this nature.

She said: “The council took advice and there were a lot of professional people involved with this building and all the regulations should have been met at the time.

“There’s always a risk to everything you do and now the council has a duty of care because it’s people’s homes.

“It’s vital the council gets this right and I’m sure it will be working hard to ensure is the case.”

Investment strategy

On the investment strategy, she said: “Investing outside the district brings a large amount of revenue in and means people in London are paying for the services people in Mansfield receive.

“The money the council gets from the Government is minuscule so, if you want the services you need, you need to be creative. That’s what we were.

“It was a way of raising money during times of austerity – 99 per cent of every purchase went well and brought money flooding in to be spent in the district.”

A 2018 document reveals the council receives annual rental income from the Clapham property totalling more than £300,000, while several flats have been sold off.

Other buildings bought during this period included Travelodge hotels in Edinburgh and Doncaster, a leisure centre in Manchester and a car dealership in Glasgow.

However, following the 2017 purchase of the Clapham building, which has business space on the ground floor and 40 flats above, a 2018 independent assessment found it had serious fire safety concerns.

Ms Allsop says the council ‘took advice’ from professionals when purchasing the building and believed all regulations had been met during its construction.

Lambeth Council, the authority which approved the building’s planning permission, said regulations on high-rise buildings changed following the 2017 Grenfell Tower disaster.

The authority said the application had been assessed on the relevant regulations and standards in place at that time.

After issues inside the building came to light, the London Fire Brigade issued the building with a Notice of Fire Safety Deficiencies.

Residents in the flats say they relate to issues ‘inside the walls’, which would make it harder to contain a fire.

The council insists it has taken measures to ensure the building remains safe.

Secure income

Mr Egginton, who became executive mayor in 2002, before retiring from the role in 2015, says the purchase occurred late in his tenure and he ‘cannot recall’ the details.

The original decision to allocate cash was taken in October 2014, six months before his retirement, although he says similar investments helped ‘secure income into the authority’.

He said: “It would have been at the end of my watch but, with investments at the time, we were looking to bring additional income into the coffers.

“We looked at the investments to get secure income into the authority, but I cannot recall this particular one.”

Works to remedy the fire safety issues will involve floors, walls and ceilings being ripped out, so the building can be rebuilt internally.

Residents say they are being asked to leave their homes for up to a year while work takes place.

They say work was initially scheduled to start last year before being rearranged to August 2022 and now until May 2023.

Residents will be asked to take all belongings out of the building for the work, with the council committed to funding any fees incurred by each household.

While the authority has not confirmed how much the works are going to cost, its capital programme reveals almost £19m will be needed spread over the next three years.

Balanced portfolio

A council spokesman said: “Having a balanced portfolio of investment has and continues to give the authority revenue stability and allows the council to invest in services when external funding streams are reducing.

“Following an independent assessment of the building in 2018, the council took immediate action to address several fire safety concerns and keep tenants and residents safe in their homes.

“The council has worked with London Fire Brigade and tenants to ensure additional temporary fire protection measures are in place so the property is safe to occupy until the remedial works have been completed.

“The council, as a responsible landlord and property owner, has undertaken an extensive investigation into the issues and determined a programme of required works to remedy them.

“In the meantime, the council is satisfied it has taken all necessary steps to ensure the immediate safety of its tenants and the building is safe to occupy.

“There are three phases of work to the building, with tenants being temporarily relocated whilst these phased works are delivered. We expect the work to begin in 2023.

“The works required are substantial, but necessary for the long-term safety of the building.

“As a responsible landlord, we have always put safety first and will continue to do so.”