COUNCILLOR Martin Kerin, Labour’s Shadow Portfolio Holder for Regeneration, commenting on the spiralling costs of the new Stanford Station Project ahead of Tuesday evenings Planning Transport Regeneration Overview and Scrutiny Committee, said:
“We need clarity and openness on the spiralling costs of this project and some idea when the new station will be complete.
“In early 2019 the old station was demolished. The Tories then spent £590,000 in consultants and since then nothing.
“At October’s Full Council by Portfolio Holder Councillor Coxshall said the latest costs would be around £20Million which is wildly over the original budget.
“Now the latest report on this project contains no figures at all!
“Decision makers like Councillor Coxshall have a responsibility to explain their spending decisions and account for the way public money is spent on major projects infrastructure projects like this, where the Council takes the lead.
“The Council’s complete lack of openness and accountability is frustrating and what we’ve seen and heard from the Portfolio Holder so far is not good enough.
“This is yet another Thurrock Council project chronically overdue and massively overspent. And the people of Stanford still don’t know the new station will be complete.
“I’m asking for a detailed breakdowns of spending, an explanation for the delay and for an end to the Thurrock Council’s systemic secrecy over the spending of public funds”.
