14/06/2012 Dragon's Eye

Feel like investing in a derelict hotel?

The Welsh Government's got one going cheap.

This is Dragon's Eye. Good Evening.

�1.6 million of public money was wasted by the Welsh Government when

it bought a hotel in Llangollen for a charity to turn into a martial

arts centre. That's according to a report from

the Wales Audit Office which says persistent bad practice and poor

judgement by officials meant that the taxpayer did not get value for

money on the deal. The report highlights a conflict of

interest relating to one official which was not properly managed and

a failure to accept legal advice in relation to the deal struck with

the organisation behind the project. Here's Brian Meechan.

This is Paul Won, a monk, traig people in 2006 during the time when

he was teaching at the former River Lodge hotel in Llangollen. This is

the building now, derelict and vandalised in the years after being

abandoned. The financial watchdog criticises the purchase of River

Lodge in 2007 as, "Flawed" it says the price tag represented poor

value-for-money and it suggested that was more than the property was

worth. The wging with went ahead with the project that the Welsh

Doflt development Agency had done the work on. I was running

international courses in marshal arts -- martial arts. I have a

sanction to teach kung fu, which was given to me as a cultural gift

from one of the masters. Given to the people of North Wales as a

cultural gift. The Audit Office criticises the lease agreement as,

"Unwise" it says the control and governance of the purchase of River

Lodge was, "Weak". The Welsh Government bought the property for

�1 .6 million it was not supported by a prior or independent Valation.

We assessed that they paid top market price for the property and

more than it was worth for its intended use. At the time it bought

the property, even those it's purchase was to sub-let it, it did

not have any agreement in place at that time. Concerns were raised

about the role auto civil servant played in this project. She was

responsible for looking after its development on behalf of the Welsh

Government. She sat on the Board. She has been sacked. We have been

told is now taking her case against her former employers to an

employment tribunal. I thought it was not just reasonable, I thought

it was a responsible thing to do to ask this person to join the Board

and keep an eye on us and make sure it was complyant and so on. It's

already been established that this so-called conflict of interest, I