Taxpayer Could Face Huge Leicestershire Council Legal Bill

Thu, 10 Sep 2009

A legal wrangle over a Leicestershire village hall could cost the British taxpayer £6 million. Leicestershire County Council had been set to go to court with campaigners from Breedon on the Hill at the High Court this month, though the case has now been delayed by a further six months. That postponement has seen the campaigners’ legal costs rise from £3.2 million to £5.3 million – a bill that the council will have to pay if it loses the case.

That legal fee is in addition to the £876,000 the council will have already spend itself on solicitors and barristers by the time of the hearing, with lawyers seemingly the only beneficiary from the ongoing saga. The council insists it has made sincere attempts to resolve the issue, citing a £92,000 settlement claim, but campaigners insist that the council is determined to take the matter to court.

The legal battle surrounds St Harduplh’s Primary School in north west Leicestershire. Villagers paid towards the construction of the school more than 40 years ago on the condition they would be able to use the hall when they wanted. However, the council has recently told locals that they can no longer use the hall as it interferes with the running of the school.
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