NI council has ‘nothing to fear’ from new probe of land deals ordered by Stormont, councillors insist

The audit was ordered by Communities Minister Caral Ni Chuilin, who said she had taken the step due to “concerns about land disposals and easements” by the council.

The News Letter revealed in October that officials from her department, which oversees the work of local councils, were given a “170-page presentation” by the independent councillor Padraig McShane that outlined details on the sale of land deemed necessary for a proposal to build a boutique hotel near Coleraine.

The new audit ordered by Stormont also comes after a majority of councillors voted to take no action against the council’s chief executive David Jackson after his role in the granting of land rights to a property developer for £1 for another proposed hotel development near Portstewart was criticised in a leaked investigation report.

Announcing the audit, Ms Ni Chuilin said: “Under local government legislation a council should not dispose of land at less than best price except with the approval of my department.

“My department has never received any applications from the council concerning proposals to sell land at an under value.”

Mr McShane said: “Council has proved itself incapable of proper oversight and investigation into these matters.

“They had successive opportunities and continue to drop the ball.”

DUP councillor John McAuley, meanwhile, had a different view.

“To date we haven’t seen any evidence or anything that would indicate the need for spending ratepayers’ money on a further audit,” he said.

“But if this is not going to be at the ratepayers’ expense then let it go ahead – and if something does arise out of it that needs addressed we will deal with that.”

Independent councillor William McCandless also said the council should have “nothing to fear” and added: “Let the communities minister investigate.”

SDLP councillor Helena Dallat-O’Driscoll said: “While we welcome the fact the minister has eventually decided to act, it should have never been allowed to escalate to this situation.

“We need a forensic audit to restore public confidence in our council and to ensure ratepayers’ money is being spent properly.”