Victory! Stockport Council reveal they spent nearly £900k on The Produce Hall

Today, Stockport Council abided by the ICO's ruling and revealed that they have spent £884,178.43 on The Produce Hall, as part of their deal with restauranteur Steve Pilling. This investment is broken down as follows: - Structural, mechanical and electrical work: £491,260.89 - Fit out work: £118,068.53 - Kitchen equipment: £163,625.77 - Design, planning and project management fees: £83,357.11 - Legal, marketing and agency fees: £27,866.13. While the council say they ‘believe’ they will make £1.5m over the next 15 years as a result of the deal, they haven’t provided us with any evidence to back this claim up. Considering our bid scored higher for financial criteria than Steve Pilling’s, this statement seems difficult to believe. Regardless, this is a real victory for transparency and accountability, especially when the council included a clause within the contract with Steve Pilling which tried to prevent any information about the deal from being revealed through freedom of information requests. Luckily, the Information Commissioner's Office decided that such a clause was unenforceable and ruled that the council had no choice but to reveal how much money it had invested. We want to thank you again for your support. This was always about the principle of openness, transparency and accountability, and we're glad that has been finally achieved. The Foodie Friday Team