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15th January 2026
By Gazette Reporter
Residents have expressed frustration and disbelief after two Liberal Democrat councillors declined to respond to mounting concerns over financial irregularities linked to the North Reddish primary school project.
Emails and show council officers recorded “obvious concern over funding” in early project papers, yet later reports to senior decision-makers appear to have softened or omitted key warnings.
Despite these developments, when approached for comment on the issue, Councillors Lisa Smart and Angela Clark both said “No comment” rather than launching an investigation or explaining their understanding of the financial situation.
“Serious questions left unanswered”
The documents reveal that as early as March 2007 council officers were acknowledging concerns about rising costs, design changes and inflation pressures on the £millions-worth school project.
Yet later financial assurances described cost controls as “fine”, even as the project’s budget increased sharply. Critics argue this suggests either a breakdown in internal reporting or a deliberate watering down of risk information before it reached councillors and decision-makers.
“Those documents show clear warnings that the project was out of control,” said one local resident. “If our councillors are aware of this, we expect them to investigate, not shrug and say ‘no comment’.”
Councillors decline to engage
When asked directly about the evidence previously sent to them Cllr Lisa Smart and Cllr Angela Clark declined to comment.
Residents say this is not good enough.
“Councillors are elected to hold officers and spending to account,” another local said. “If they are unwilling to say whether they have seen these documents, or whether they will investigate them, then they are failing in their duty.”
“The public deserves answers”
The Gazette asked both councillors for their perspective on the blog post and for an explanation of why they would not comment on the allegations of financial irregularity and selective reporting. At the time of publication, neither councillor had provided a statement.
Campaigners warn that silence from elected representatives deepens mistrust and could suggest complacency over public spending.
“These are not minor accounting errors,” said a local campaigner. “These are documents showing internal alarm bells being raised, followed by assurances that everything is fine. If councillors won’t investigate that, who will?”
What residents want to know
Locals have set out a list of questions they want councillors to address publicly:
- Were Cllrs Smart and Clark ever shown the emails referring to the funding concern?
- If so, did they raise the issue with officers or Cabinet?
- What explanation was given for the apparent contradiction between the internal warnings and later financial assurances?
- Will there now be an independent review into how the project was monitored?
“No comment” is not good enough
Public bodies and their representatives have a statutory and ethical duty to respond to concerns over the use of public funds.
Campaigners argue that by declining to comment, Cllrs Smart and Clark are avoiding scrutiny rather than embracing it.
“When serious questions about major projects are raised, the public expects transparency,” said a local resident. “Blanket refusals to engage only fuel suspicion.”
The Gazette will continue to follow this story and publish any responses received from councillors or the council.
