Politics

More than £1m spent on car park regeneration plans

Huntingdonshire District Council's payments to developer, described as a "monumental waste of money".

More than £1m has been spent on plans to regenerate car parks and a bus station in a town centre, according to a council.

Documents from Huntingdonshire District Council show it paid developer Capital and Centric £1,058,720 between January and July.

The firm was brought in by the council last year to develop proposals for regenerating parts of Huntingdon, St Ives and St Neots.

Opponents have called the scheme a "monumental waste" of money. Huntingdonshire District Council has been contacted for comment.

The plans would see Huntingdon Bus Station and the Princes Street car park replaced by 78 homes.

In St Neots, Tebbutts Road car park would be redeveloped for 83 homes and green space.

In St Ives, the proposals included 120 homes, a gym and restaurants on the site of the former cattle market square and gatehouse.

Hundreds of residents attended public consultation events run by Capital and Centric, while opposition councillors raised concerns about the process.

There were calls for the council's Liberal Democrat leader, Sarah Conboy, to resign over the dispute, but she survived a vote of no confidence.

Conservative group leader Ross Martin called the project a "monumental waste of public money" and said someone should be held accountable.

Ryan Coogan, Reform UK's group leader on the council, has tabled a motion asking the authority to stop working with Capital and Centric.

The motion, due to be heard at the council meeting on Wednesday, said: "Money already spent must never, of itself, become a justification for spending further public money."

Cookies on xabarchi

We use cookies to remember your language and theme, and to count how many people are reading right now — that count is anonymous, lasts only while your browser is open, and cannot be tied to you or to another visit. With your permission we also measure how the site is read: Microsoft Clarity, which records page views and on-page interactions, and our own count of returning readers. Nothing that recognises you across visits is measured until you accept.