Princes Parade – a financially unviable project from the outset!

The leisure centre project for which planning consent was granted in July 2019 was conceived as a ‘masterplan’ in April 2016 without recognising the technical difficulties posed by the site. Those difficulties arose principally from the presence of contaminated landfill, flood risk and drainage problems, and they demanded a complex, high risk development programme. 
From the outset, Dr Geoffrey Burrell, a management consultant with substantial experience of major projects, repeatedly warned the council that the project would inevitably be financially unviable – even allowing for any funds that would be generated from the sale of the residual Princes Parade land for residential development.
Each year, following the publication of the council’s draft accounts, the public is allowed a six week inspection period within which to raise an objection. When Folkestone and Hythe District Council’s  accounts for 2021/22 were published, Dr Burrell challenged the viability of the Princes Parade project, raising an objection in a letter to the external auditor, Grant Thornton UK LLP, on 4th March 2023. This was a lengthy and detailed examination of evidence which aimed to demonstrate that the project’s viability had been based upon inaccurate and misleading information resulting in a substantial underestimation of costs.
It was nearly two years later, on 9th January 2025, that the external auditor, Grant Thornton UK LLP, responded to the objection citing only the council’s own published information, claiming  that the reasons for the project’s failure could not have been foreseen. They failed to address the detailed evidence presented in the objection but instead relied upon information published by FHDC. They also expanded the time-frame to include reports from prior years.  
The door was thereby opened to allow Dr Burrell to submit a Rebuttal letter to challenge the auditor’s overall assessment covering the whole project. 
In a subsequent exchange of emails, it was agreed that no need existed to unravel the accounts certification process that had already been completed (since the council’s current administration had, by then, addressed the governance issues). The auditor did not dispute the validity of the reasons for the project’s failure that had been presented in the Rebuttal.
Readers with an interest in understanding the detailed reasons for the financial failure of the Princes Parade project can read the Rebuttal (24 Feb 2025), while cross-referring to the Objection (4 Mar 2023) and Grant Thornton’s Response (9 Jan 2025).