October 27, 2025 - 440 views
The Auditor General for Wales has raised concerns about the proposed sale of Denbighshire Leisure Limited, highlighting the need for better decision-making processes and transparency by Denbershire County Council.
Despite deciding not to delve deeper into the issue, the Auditor General recommended improvements in areas like public consultation.
Welsh Conservative leader Darren Millar expressed his concerns over the potential sale and emphasised the importance of demonstrating transparency in future decision-making.
In a letter to MS Darren Millar, Adrian Crompton said, although the sale did not go ahead, “he has been seeking assurance around the Council's decision-making process and the circumstances surrounding the decision to sell DLL”.
He said his team has now completed an assessment of the Council’s proper arrangements duty and shared this with the Council.
The Auditor General has indicated that whilst he has decided “at this point not to carry out any more detailed examination in respect of the issue”, he said;
“The Council could enhance its documentation to better demonstrate its thorough consideration of the following:
Public consultation;
Communication plan for current and prospective service users pre-decision;
Timeliness of pre-decision scrutiny by elected members;
Applying the Sustainable Development Principle’s five ways of working. For example, the ‘involvement’ section of the current assessment only notes who the Council intends to involve if the decision is made; and
Use of restricted papers".
He added: “While recognising that some matters may be affected by issues of timescale and commercial sensitivity, these areas present opportunities for the Council to improve its future decision making.”
Commenting, Mr. Millar said: “I know many residents and some elected members were extremely concerned about the way in which the proposed sale of Denbighshire Leisure was carried out, therefore I contacted Audit Wales to investigate the matter.
“The response suggests that there were shortcomings and, should the Council go down this route again, they will have to do things differently.
“It is deeply concerning that had the buyer not pulled out, this sale could have gone through despite there being areas for improvement in the decision-making process.
“Lessons really must be learnt from this, and I was pleased to hear from the Auditor General that the Council has been open with his team throughout this process and receptive to his recommendations.
“Whatever direction the Council now pursue with regards the future of Denbighshire Leisure, they must ensure full transparency with the public and elected representatives, and act in the best interests of residents, service users and the Denbighshire Leisure workforce.”
