THE signing of a contract on polling day committing Bournemouth to the £59 million Pavilion project was legal, councillors heard on Monday night.

A major row erupted when the Conservatives won control of the council from the Liberal Democrats on May 3, and discovered that the deal with the Trevor Osborne Group had been sealed that same day.

But advice from law firm Veale Wasbrough confirmed there was no reason why officers should not have gone ahead with the casino scheme.

Lawyers concluded there was no evidence of "irrelevant considerations" influencing the decision. The council's environment and economy scrutiny panel and other civic leaders had the opportunity to quiz the executive director major projects Stephen Godsall who signed the contract.

Mr Godsall said: "The council carries on with its business through the election period unless there is good reason to do otherwise. Our job is not to be politicians but to implement policy."

But, following questioning by Conservative Cllr Michael Griffiths, Mr Godsall admitted that the local elections had some bearing on the contract being signed. He denied, however, that any councillor had put pressure on officers.

Trevor Osborne described his relationship with council officers as "professional but not cosy," stressing: "If there had been a reluctance to sign I would have had to think very carefully about whether I wanted to be in partnership with the council."

But several Conservative councillors remained unconvinced. The council's Conservative leader Cllr Stephen MacLoughlin asked whether former Lib Dem deputy leader Adrian Fudge could have refused to sign to confirm the agreement.

But Mr Godsall told the panel that Mr Fudge, who lost his council seat, had been "acting on the council's authority".

  • The panel will meet again tomorrow (Wednesday October 10) night to agree any recommendations to be put forward to the full council.