Causeway Coast and Glens council land deals may not have been lawful, damning audit report suggests

Two land deals agreed by a Northern Ireland council may not have been lawful, the Local Government Auditor has concluded.

Colette Kane has carried out an extraordinary audit of Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council and her highly critical report identified a culture of "bypassing best practice" in the council's transacting of land disposals and easements.

She also said that the actions of some senior council officers had "fallen short of the standards expected in a public body".

Communities Minister Deirdre Hargey has said the council must act to accept and implement all recommendations in the report.

The audit, the first of its kind in Northern Ireland, was ordered by former communities minister Caral Ni Chuilin in November 2020.

Mrs Kane's report highlighted two cases where she said significant failings were evident.

The first related to an easement - a right to allow another party to use land without possessing it - which was granted by the council to a developer for £1 in June 2016 for land at Ballyreagh Road, Portstewart, to allow site access for a proposed hotel development project.

Planning permission for the hotel complex was granted by the council in June 2017, but was subsequently overturned as a result of judicial review proceedings in 2019.

The auditor's report said: "There is a case for finding the easement has not been granted lawfully.

"There was a failure to demonstrate that best price was obtained including lack of professional valuation prior to the grant of the easement.

"Inadequate information was presented by senior council officers to committees and council to enable them to make informed decisions."

The report said that the council's chief executive was "directly involved" in the transaction and added that inadequate records were kept of key matters and that "inaccurate and unreliable information" was provided to the auditor.

The second land transaction concerned the disposal of land at Castleroe Road in Coleraine.

In 2016, the council agreed in principle to sell the land to a registered charity for £5,000 in order to facilitate the development of a boutique hotel.

The auditor again said there was a case for finding that the disposal had not been granted lawfully and added there was a failure to demonstrate that best price was obtained.

She said the council's chief executive was directly involved in the transacting of this disposal.

She added that inadequate records were kept of key matters and that the advice and guidance of legal officers was not followed.

The report stated: "The conduct of some senior council officers fell well short of expected standards."

The auditor has now recommended that an independent review should be carried out of Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council's governance arrangements, overseen by the Department for Communities.

She has also recommended the provision of enhanced training to councillors, to facilitate their understanding of the level of challenge and scrutiny needed when holding officers to account.

Mrs Kane said: "Throughout this audit, I have identified evidence that adherence to legislation and best practice in land and property matters was not part of the culture of the council.

"There was evidence that senior officers were advocating actions that were contrary to best practice.

"This leads me to conclude that a culture existed of bypassing best practice and guidance to get land 'deals done' which set the wrong tone from the top of the organisation.

"In some cases legal advice was ignored and, on one occasion, inaccurate and unreliable information was provided to the Local Government Auditor."

Responding to the report, Communities Minister Ms Hargey said: "The detailed report has highlighted a range of serious issues that now need to be accepted and addressed by the council's elected representatives, chief executive and senior management.

"All eight of the recommendations should be implemented in full as a matter of urgency.

"My department will support the council as it works to address the issues raised.

"I am engaging with my legal team to ensure that all appropriate steps are taken should the council fail in its duties to implement the changes required in a timely way."

A spokesperson for Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council said time would be required to assess the report and consider the next steps.

The spokesperson added: "Work on this report began in late 2020, and throughout that time council co-operated fully with the Northern Ireland Audit Office.

"Council has already made changes to its Land and Property procedures and intends to comply with its obligations to ratepayers and stakeholders.

"The council will meet to discuss the report, its recommendations and further action to be taken, at the next full council meeting."

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