£11 million overspent on one bridge

11.05.04pm BST (GMT +0100) Wed 6th May 2009

£11m overspent on a single road building project

Barnet Liberal Democrats have expressed outrage at an £11 million overspend on the Aerodrome Road Bridge Project.

Cllr Jack Cohen Leader of Barnet's Liberal Democrat Group says that the news that the Council is again admitting to financial mismanagement will come as no surprise to local people already fed up with a litany of waste, lack of oversight and general financial incompetence by Barnet's ruling Conservative Administration. Councillor Cohen says that these latest revelations really do take the biscuit. Coming on top of the Icelandic Banks fiasco, Cllr Cohen insists it is time Senior Politicians took responsibility and resigned.

Cllr Cohen believes that the people of Barnet have lost patience: "It is not good enough simply for leading Cabinet Members to wring their hands in despair and blame everyone but themselves". Only last year the Leader of the Council was boasting that the Aerodrome Road Bridge Project had come in on budget. (February 2008 Hendon Times blog). Cllr Cohen describes this as a spectacular own goal by the Leader: "A year on the truth is out; far from coming in on budget what we have is the biggest overspend in the history of the council"

Cllr Cohen points out that the real tragedy is that the £11m needed to bail the Council out could have been put to better use refurbishing our schools, repairing our roads and pavements and Barnet's run down housing estates. And some of the money would have come in handy to save the Sheltered Housing Warden Scheme. "Everyone loses out" added Councillor Cohen. "That is except the responsible cabinet Members who continue to draw their special responsibility allowances."