Northampton Borough Council apologies over stadium loan

Northampton Borough Council has apologised over its handling of a loan to Northampton Town Football Club, after a report by its internal auditor Price Waterhouse Cooper (PwC), described the council’s management as ‘inadequate’.

The news comes after the council loaned the football club £10 million, without carrying out the appropriate checks.

The local authority has also put the issuing of any new loans on hold until a new corporate governance framework has been put in place and has maintained that an action plan is in place to deal with the issues identified both by the council itself and the PwC report.

Councillor Jonathan Nunn, leader of Northampton BC, said: “First and foremost, I apologise for the past failings highlighted in our auditor’s report. The council’s management of this project fell seriously short of the standards people have a right to expect from their council, and that is wholly unacceptable.

“When the loan to the football club went so badly wrong, we asked our auditors to look at what happened and they have given us clear advice on the improvements that must be made,’ the councillor continued.

“I accept that the Council failed to manage this loan in a proper way and clear action must be taken to show that lessons have been learned.”