By Julian Whittle

Published at 11:23, Friday, 11 April 2008

CITY council chiefs have defended plans to hand over Carlisle Renaissance to a board controlled by unelected business people.

Cllr Mike Mitchelson: Work is ‘not delayed’

Renaissance was launched as a response to the 2005 floods with promises that it would create 3,000 jobs and bring £160m of private investment.

The council admitted last week that building work on the two main redevelopment schemes for Rickergate and Viaduct Estate was unlikely to start until 2010.

The slow rate of progress has brought criticism from Carlisle MP Eric Martlew.

And some opposition Labour councillors have attacked as anti-democratic plans to hand over control to a nine-person board, five members of which would be drawn from the private sector. But council leader Mike Mitchelson told the executive yesterday that Renaissance was on track.

He said: “Carlisle Renaissance is not delayed. A lot of work has gone in to put the building blocks in place.”

He said the new board would answer to the city and county councils and the Northwest Development Agency. He added: “The board will not have legal powers. These will remain with the city and county councils.

“We need to have the private sector involved because we need the private sector to deliver economic growth.”

The latest proposals will be discussed by a council scrutiny committee on February 4.

The plan also involves the appointment of a £75,000-a-year programme director to lead a development team.

JWhittle@cngroup.co.uk

Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk