THE controversy over the Tesco and sports centre deal just keeps rumbling on.
Kirklees Council have now said they will not reveal to the public how much money Tesco is putting into the £36.4m sports centre.
The supermarket giant entered into an agreement to pump money into a new sports facility in exchange for the Southgate land where they want to build a new store.
They will pay for the old sports centre to be demolished to make way for the new store and buy the land from the council.
But Kirklees Council cite ‘commercial confidentiality’ as the reason for keeping the land value deal secret.
They say Tesco paid the council the market value for the site, without it ever being put on the open market. The deal meant it was sold off to Tesco without allowing other possible interested parties get in on a deal.
It will never be known now, but had the land gone on the open market it could have generated more income for the council.
And surely Kirklees could have struck a similar deal for regeneration in securing the highest price.
By revealing how much the deal is worth, the public will know if the council really got the best deal.
It is true that it will kick-start regeneration, but there was only ever one option on the table. It means other opportunities could have been missed in selling to the only bidder who knew there was a deal to be struck.
