Was hotel sale a good deal?
SHAUN LOWTHORPE08 September 2009 In 2006 Breckland Council dipped its toe into the luxury hotel market, buying Barnham Broom Country and Golf Club for £7m. But confidential papers seen by the Times’ sister paper the EDP raise a series of questions about whether it was such a good deal. Public affairs correspondent Shaun Lowthorpe investigates. For three years nobody has been able to question the wisdom of a council sinking millions of pounds of public money into the luxury Barnham Broom Country and Golf Club. It was, we were told by council leader William Nunn, a good deal which would pay a better return than simply leaving the money in the bank. But more can be revealed about confidential papers challenging the purchase in the wake of the tenant defaulting on its rent and seeking a new agreement at a lower rate. The 62-page bundle of documents contains a report by former monitoring officer Tim Leader essentially recommending the authority should cut its losses and run, though he also
