THE DISTRICT Council are considering their legal position over accusations of ‘illegal behaviour’ made by the Conservative Party group on the authority about councillors and the cabinet.

The claims came after the collapse of a bid, which was subject to an exclusion of the press and public order, from the authority to invest in a retail park in Worcestershire.

But a leading Conservative member, who claimed two councillors-only meetings on the idea only had scant minutes taken, has stood by his description of the cabinet as ‘behaving like a communist politburo’.

The investment fell through, said a council statement issued last week, because of interest rate rises from the Government.

They were expected to get multi-million pound loans from the Public Works Board, a statutory body of the Government that provides loans to public bodies, to invest in the Worcestershire project.

But their statement said: “On 26th September 2019, authority was given for further research, including due diligence to be undertaken before the completion of the acquisition.

“Since this was granted, central government unexpectedly increased its lending rates to Councils by one per cent which had a material adverse effect on the financial business case for pursuing the investment. This change increased the interest payable by the Council by more than 50 per cent.”

READ REACTION FROM THE CONSERVATIVES AND MORE COMMENTS ON THIS STORY IN THIS WEEK’S FORESTER