A MOCHDRE HGV depot that has cost taxpayers £240K a year for nine years has been branded a stain on the local authority.
Conwy took on the contract for the purpose-built Mochdre “shed” in May 2016, meaning the authority has spent around £2.2 million on rent and counting – despite never being able to use the building for its intended use.
The depot’s floor is unsuitable to sufficiently accommodate HGVs, yet the council is locked into the 35-year lease until 2031 – when the agreement can be broken.
An independent, external review found that there were process failings in the way the council took on the lease at Mochdre Commerce Park, which was presented to a special meeting in March 2019.
But despite the huge cost to taxpayers, a Conwy County Council spokesperson said it was unable to comment on the matter: “The council is not able to comment on a matter that is the subject of ongoing litigation.”
Counicllor Phil Ashe, the Colwyn Bay Town councillor for Dinerth, a ward bordering the site, urged the council to be transparent with taxpayers.
“The Mochdre shed is a stain on the county of Conwy,” he said.
“The local authority has made many mistakes over the years that have cost the county millions, and that is why it is in the mess it is in. Mochdre is a prime example. They’ve wasted thousands of pounds a month, millions of pounds for something we’ve never been able to use, and the lack of transparency from the local authority is awful.
“The taxpayers are funding this, and they haven’t got the nerve to come out and explain what is going on. They keep hiding behind the legal case when in reality people have made mistakes and need to be held to account.”
Should Conwy continue to honour the rent payments until 2031, the total expenditure on the depot would reach around £3.6m.
Conwy has increased council tax by around 30% in three years while slashing services.
Initially leased from Conygar Investment Company PLC, R.R Sea Strand Limited now serves as the landlords.
The facility was used for storing pandemic-related equipment and even prepared as an emergency temporary morgue during the height of the COVID crisis but has been largely left unused.
An independent report with Newcastle-based DWF LLP was commissioned by Conwy in 2021. The report was initially not made public but was eventually released following an FOI request, documenting a “lack of leadership, ignored or misunderstood policies, and a lack of accountability”.
Reflecting on the debacle, Conwy’s then-chief executive, Iwan Davies, described the decision to lease the unusable building as “highly regrettable,” while Cllr Anne McCaffrey labelled it “a shaming catalogue of errors.”
