unlike the local council they can't square the circle by just putting the council tax up
Yeh right, that's how local authority funding works...
The question is HOW can someone on a private ltd company board decide they are going to ask for council money, and if they dont get the £4m then they will take shares off the councils, which they same councillors then decide to give the same company without a legal fight.
If you read the press articles linked below you'll see how this worked - all part of the original contract singed by the councils when they sold, which presumably would have been cleared by the legal departments of all the councils concerned.
I am also amazed that that the CEO of Newcastle airport...may,might,does have a say in funding for our airport!!!!
doesn't have a say in funding - NECC is purely a
"...specialist business support organisation representing the interests of its members on a regional, national and international basis."
i.e. talking shop/lunch club.
If you guys think there is a really a problem, do something about it rather than lurking on an anonymous forum. How about you:
1. Contact the relevant councils and ask them to explain themselves
2. Go to your councilor
3. Contact the press
Private Eye | Official Site - the UK's number one best-selling news and current affairs magazine, edited by Ian Hislop
4. Complain to the Local Government Ombudsman
Local Government Ombudsman ? Home