Investigation into Great Yarmouth market revamp costs

The leader of the Great Yarmouth Borough Council has said he cannot provide the full details of the inquiry due to it relating to "confidential material".

But a councillor has revealed it involves an issue with a contract for the multi-million pound covered market development.

The final phase of the market revamp is nearing completion (Image: James Weeds)

Members of the local authority were reviewing the latest report on the scheme during a scrutiny committee meeting.

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Councillor Michael Jeal, who was frustrated at the positive portrayal of its progress, said: "This report makes it look absolutely perfect.

"I can't believe this in view of the fact it cost over £2.5m because of a lack of signing a contract.

"We have never had a report to this council on who never signed the contract, who was legally responsible for the contact.

"I won’t say ‘who was to blame’, maybe it just slipped their mind, but we still haven’t had anything on this yet."

Councillor Michael Jeal (Image: Newsquest)

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It is understood that a monitoring officer is investigating the matter, which is related to the funding of the first phase of the covered market.

Leader of the council, Carl Smith, said: "There is currently an investigation going on to do with commercially sensitive information which won't be released into the public domain. 

"We just need to get to the bottom of it."

Inside the covered market in Great Yarmouth (Image: James Weeds)

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A Great Yarmouth Borough Council spokesperson said: ‘’Great Yarmouth Borough Council procured a number of different specialists to deliver the market project.

"Throughout the life of the project, there has been cost escalation for a number of well-documented reasons – including the need to widen the foundations, wind bracing design changes and unexpected cabling. These all contributed towards delays impacting on cost.

‘’The council procured experts in their field to design and build the scheme and is now undertaking a review into the delays. Once the review is complete members will receive a report."

The £4.7m market revamp has been funded by the council itself and from the government's Future High Street Fund. 

In 2018, it was reported that the council missed out on a bid for £1.5m of government funding.

The project has been hit by delays over the course of the last two years due to supply chain issues and other factors.

Some traders have now moved in to the stalls but work continues on the site and the final completion date is unknown.