No wrongdoing by council over Morden Tavern deal (From Your Local Guardian)

Both of the official investigations by the Local Government Ombudsman and the Audit Commission confirm the concerns of the campaign group, leaving key questions still unanswered. This includes why Reef Estates were given preferred bidder status before the bid process was complete. In addition, the Audit Commissioner made a recommendation that all property should be subject to independent valuation before disposal, and not left to Council officers.

As to viability, that is a matter for qualified and experienced pub operators to determine, and not Mr Judge or Merton Council, who are not, as we understand it, in the pub business. There is now serious commercial interest by the St Helier Pub Group itself, under a community cooperative scheme. This has been enthusiastically backed by local residents, CAMRA and other independent pub operators and its business plan is the product of input by, and the serious scrutiny of, experienced publicans. Our plan is both commercially sound and operationally robust.

We look forward to working with Merton to see this come to fruition once the planning appeal has been dismissed by the Inspector, placing the Morden Tavern back where it belongs, at the heart of the St Helier community.