THE leader of the Conservative group at Darlington Borough Council has accused the Labour-led authority of creating a £6m white elephant through mismanagement of the town hall.

Councillor Heather Scott said 13 years of bad housekeeping at the town hall had left the 1960s building unfit for purpose and needing £6m spending on it to bring it up to date.

Council leader Bill Dixon has rejected the claims and said the Tory group had never mentioned the issue of maintenance at the town hall until they could use it for a political argument.

The future of the town hall is currently the subject of a public consultation about whether to spend millions renovating the building or to relocate the authority’s headquarters elsewhere and use the land for development.

Coun Scott said: “Every householder in the borough understands the importance of good housekeeping and the truth is that the Labour-run council has failed to provide resources for the annual maintenance costs of the town hall and landed tax payers with a £6m bill.

“It’s financial mismanagement of the highest order and the residents of the borough will be expected to pay a high price unless the council comes up with some answers.”

In response, Coun Dixon said: “It’s a bizarre claim that we have mismanaged the town hall. If that is the case why have they kept quiet for 13 years?

“If something has been going wrong at the town hall, then their silence has been deafening.

“The future of the town hall is out for consultation and we will be bringing a detailed document forward about what people want. We went out and asked people what they wanted and once the report is ready we will decide whether to keep it or not.”