Prom group seeks to meet chief auditor

Larne Promenade Action Group (LPAG) is questioning why the study is to be funded with public money.

Last week, the Larne Times reported that the auditor had told the council it needed to consider the “relevance” of Larne Marina Consortium’s bid to build a marina at Sandy Bay and that a barrister had advised there was no binding agreement between the council and the developer.

On chief executive Geraldine McGahey’s recommendation, the council commissioned specialist consultants to assess the social and economic benefit to be derived from marina development anywhere in the borough.

An LPAG spokesperson said the latest developments “might seem like good news for the promenade in that it appears that after 11 years of prevarication and obfuscation Larne Council has been forced to abandon its tenuous relationship with the preferred developer, Larne Marina Co”, but added: “No sooner has this relationship apparently ended than we find the minute showing the chief executive stating that the council ‘needs’ to establish if there was a social or economic benefit to be derived from having a marina and proposing to engage consultants at public expense.”

The spokesperson asked: “Why? All other potential sites are in private ownership and it is for a marina proposer to investigate these at their own expense.”

LPAG said the promenade proposals had been refused by planners (subject to appeal), adding that the Howarth report on the economics of the scheme, “commissioned by the Minister at public expense”, had shown “that the scheme was not feasible, even in a time of insane property inflation”.

The spokesperson also referred to a council-commissioned Ledcom report, “again using public money”, which had “failed miserably to make a credible case for a marina and flats at the public promenade”.

LPAG said it suspected that “elements within the council” were intent on publicly funding another report to “prop up” LMC’s appeal against planners’ refusal of the promenade scheme.

“In the 11 years of opposition to the use of the Larne promenade for property speculation, experience has shown that it is pointless trying to correspond with councillors, who simply ignore public opposition to the rape of the promenade,” said the spokesperson.

The group has requested copies of council correspondence with the auditor and said it will be seeking a meeting with him in due course “regarding waste of public funds in a time of recession”.