ecos faces ‘scrutiny’

Mid and East Antrim Ulster Unionist Councillor Stephen Nicholl expects the ecos centre to be the focus of a due diligence exercise as a consequence of local government reform.
By The Newsroom
Published 6th Oct 2014, 16:08 BST
Cllr Stephen Nicholl. INBT 22-147JCCllr Stephen Nicholl. INBT 22-147JC
Cllr Stephen Nicholl. INBT 22-147JC

His comments came after it emerged that a decision was looming for Ballymena Borough Council on whether or not to spend thousands of pounds of rate payers’ money to repair the roof of ecos.

Cllr Nicholl said: ““Currently Mid and East Antrim District Council is undertaking due diligence exercises in relation to transferring functions to ensure that such services that are being transferred are at no additional cost to the ratepayer.”

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I expect this process to move on to consider the wide range of properties and services provided by the existing councils to maximise the savings that can be delivered.

“There are many issues in relation to the Ecos centre which require close scrutiny including what return the ratepayer could expect from any further investment and whether such investment is justified. Serving over 135,000 citizens and with an expected staff complement of over 700, priorities will have to be set and difficult decisions taken to provide the most appropriate services at the best value,” he added.