THE 'mind-blowing' revelation that more than £11 million has been spent on consultancy fees for the botched Stanford-le-Hope rail station was raised again at this week's meeting of Thurrock Council.

The issue was raised by Homesteads ward councillor Gary Byrne as he quizzed regeneration portfolio holder Cllr Mark Coxshall over the project – also demanding that he give residents in the town some 'cast-iron' guarantees about the project as it moves ahead.

The soaring costs of payments to consultants for the projected – and many millions more being spent on the long-running and equally controversial A13 road widening project – were first exclusively revealed on Thurrock Nub News in February this year.

In particular we highlighted the vast sums paid to a Los-Angeles based consultancy Aecom and another globally-recognised project management company, Mace. This is despite the council hiring its own six figured internal project manager and hiring other specialist members of staff to work locally.

The soaring number of highly paid executives on the council's payroll was highlighted by Nub News in May.

While the council has now embarked on cost-saving cuts that include closing down day centres for older folk and scrapping a home meals service – and projecting one in four of its own staff will lose their jobs over the next two years – money continues to pour out of the cash-strapped council's coffers into the consultants' hands.

The latest payment to Aecom was made 1 June of 142,746.25. That followed £88,588.14 in April. In the first three months of the year they were paid more than £294,000 and last July in one particular payment they pocketed £301,233.61.

Mace has also been a big earner from the council in 2021. Despite the fact actual progress in terms of the station building in Stanford is nil, Mace has trousered ££320,505.

Though the payments are logged on the council's website no detail is given of what the payments were for and what the outcomes from the work carried out has been.

Cllr's Byrne's figure of a running tally of £11 million on consultants for Stanford rail station was not contested by Cllr Coxshall – who said the 'enormous fees' were out of the council's hands.

The council has, however, previously admitted botching the terms and conditions of the contracts its signed with contractors involved in the two projects, prompted much criticism of its lack of due diligence in financial and contractual affairs.

The A13 project has been a constant embarrassment over the past three years, with the council often going tight-lipped when quizzed about its ability to control spending and projects. That led for unanswered calls for an independent review into the council's capabilities.

Quizzing Cllr Cosxshall at last week's meeting Cllr Byrne was keen to pin the portfolio holder down on the need to ensure that provision for buses remains a key part of he station project.

Recently the council's planning committee pushed through the 'stage one' development of the station with no bus provision guarantees. It differed significantly from the initial station designs which included an integral bus and drop-off facility - plans that ultimately proved to be totally unworkable and with a an unsound engineering design - which originated from another company paid tens of thousands to do flawed work!

At last week's meeting Cllr Byrne sought those guarantees, saying: "Can you explain why in the planning application for Stanford-le-Hope rail station there is no provision for buses, especially as DP World have funded £600K, so why has it been eliminated?"

Cllr Coxshall responded: "It's a great question. To make sure we make the best available space, and give the best passenger experience. The provision for the interchange and bus services will be provided outside the station area and as part of the wider plans for the zone."

Cllr Byrne pressed on, asking the meeting: "Will he give a guarantee in stone that the second stage will have a bus provision and parking? Stanford people think the land will be sold for development and we will not get our parking and DP World will keep their money."

Cllr Coxshall responded with: "I can promise you that will deliver the parking spaces. The parking spaces I can 100 per cent guarantee but the wider area needs a master plan." He fell short of the 'cast-iron guarantee about buses, but added: "The bus interchange has to happen."

Cllr Byrne then turned attention to the payments to consultants, saying: "Can you explain how it is possible to spend a mind-blowing £11 million on consultants and other fees to build a £9.6 million station. That is more than the actual build itself. How can you possibly spend more money on consultants than on the actual build?"

Cllr Coxshall said: "It annoys me as a Conservative and it does frustrate me that professional fees are going through the roof. We need to sort these planning bills out and planning acts out.

"The council is no different to any other business. if you look at the costs of these professional fees on these sites, whether it's a public building or private building. they are too high.

"Professional fees are too high but that's because of the system we have to go through and the hoops we have to jump for every public body and I'm glad this Government is looking at that with the planning act. Part of that is to remove and reduce the burden of professional fees and get more money spent on buildings."