Almost £7million will have been spent on the doomed Friarsgate project, the leader of Lichfield District Council has admitted.
The scheme is set to be formally axed at a private session of a meeting at the local authority this evening.
The council has so far not revealed the cost of the Friarsgate failure, but the figures have been revealed after opposition Labour group leader Cllr Sue Woodward posed the questions LichfieldLive had publicly asked about the redevelopment.
In a written response, Cllr Mike Wilcox, leader of Lichfield District Council, said £4.35million had been spent to date, with a future £2.5million still likely to be spent on future obligations.
In a verbal reply to the question in the public section of the meeting, he said the money had not been wasted.
“Around £4.5million has been invested in land which we will get a return on,” he said.
“We will be able to use this land to.our advantage and make a return on it.”
But Cllr Woodward insisted the money, which equates to almost £500,000 a year for the period Friarsgate has been on the radar, could not be brushed under the carpet.
“At a time when the council has imposed severe cuts and introduced charges for services, this is not acceptable,” she said.
“Take the brown bin tax, which has been introduced to save around £300,000 a year, yet more has been spent on an aborted project.
“It is a clear lack of leadership.”
