Labour Councillor David Perry made the shocking revelation in a recent meeting of Harrow’s Full Council that, due to the Conservative run Council’s mismanagement of Harrow Leisure Centre site, Harrow taxpayers will be forced to shell out £348,000 of their first new Council tax bill to pay for the site to be cleared.
On top of the damning news for the Conservative run Council that it will now be the third-highest Council taxing Borough in London, residents have been dealt a double blow as Cllr Perry shared the troubling news that, due to a build up of waste and fly-tipping on the leisure centre site, residents will have to pay out for the Council’s mismanagement of the premises.
Keys were handed over to the Conservative administration in August 2023 to manage the site, yet within 18 months the site has become neglected, with a number of large-scale fly tips damaging the look and feel of the area and waste potentially contaminating the on-site pond and posing a public health risk.
The Leader of Harrow Labour Group, Cllr. David Perry, said:
“Harrow Conservative Councillors should be embarrassed as residents have learned that the first £348,000 of their increased Council tax bill was used to pay for the leisure centre site to be cleared of waste, fly-tipping and construction materials that have been left to fester by the Council for 18 months. Conservative Councillors have wasted taxpayers’ money- while they often talk about enforcement, their neglect in this case has cost taxpayers dearly. While I am glad that, after running a campaign on behalf of residents calling for a clearance of the site, it has finally been cleared, the job is only half done. I am therefore calling for an investigation so those responsible can be found and brought to justice.”