Canbury Road Car Park Audit Report

An independent audit report into allegations about the sale of the lease for Canbury Road Car Park by Kingston Council has found that proper legal processes were followed and there is no basis for allegations. There was no evidence of any deliberate intent to manipulate the sale process. 

The independent report did not feel that any recommendations needed to be made as the council has processes in place to ensure good practice.

The report was commissioned following allegations of maladministration regarding the sale of the car park and the planning permission for the site. The report found that there was no evidence of deliberate wrongdoing.

The report does acknowledge that there were process errors but these did not impact on the legality of the process. The errors were a result of circumstances pertinent at the time - levels of staff turnover and the timing and result of elections - and that current processes are robust. 

Councillor Caroline Kerr,  Leader of the Council, said:

“I am pleased that the independent report confirmed what we already knew, that there was no truth in the allegations and that everything was done legally and properly. So there can be clarity about this, I have asked for a summary of the findings to be presented at the Audit, Governance and Standards Committee in November.

 

The application will now follow the planning process. Throughout there have been opportunities to scrutinise all elements of the proposed development in an open and transparent way and this will continue”.