The Conservative Group is keen to see The Winter Gardens back in use and playing its full part in the regeneration of Morecambe.

To that end, Conservative councillors have been asking a series of questions to clarify the respective rles of The Buildings at Risk Trust (BART), Barnfield Con-struction (Barnfield) and the city council in resolving issues concerned with the future of the building for the past six months.

The questions Conservatives are continuing to ask concern the interest-free loan of £112,000 from the city council, jointly and severally to BART and Barnfield, which may prove to be irrecoverable in practice.

We still need to know - as a matter of public accountability - why so much public money (including the loaned £112,000) was spent on the Winter Gardens project when no definite plans had been produced for a viable end use for the building!

We require answers from BART and Barnfield as to (1) what still needs to be done to facilitate a viable future for the building, (2) whether the present agreement relating to the loan from the council is an impediment to progress and (3) whether finding this viable future for the building will put further public money at risk.

There can be no excuses for continued delay in providing councillors with answers to these questions.

The building has been given a zero value in a professional valuation, so it is time to make it clear that 'viable use' should not be defined in a way that is financially overambitious.

Councillor J.

R.

Mace, Conservative group, Lancaster City Council.