Plymouth bus sale proposal faces scrutiny

17 June 2009

Plymouth City Council’s decision to seek bids for its bus company has been called in for further scrutiny.

Labour councillors made the move after the council’s cabinet voted to sell Citybus, which is wholly-owned by the local authority.

Cllr Chris Pattison told a recent scrutiny meeting that comments about Citybus nearing bankruptcy were part of an attempt to affect the sale price, according to the Plymouth Herald newspaper.

‘There is not a single minute in the Citybus minute book which raises concerns about its future viability,’ the newspaper quoted him as saying. ‘This is about the council disposing of an asset to raise a capital receipt.

‘There is already enough smoke and mirrors around this issue. We should be very careful about besmirching the reputation of Citybus and the language we use.’

Reports suggest that taxi boss, John Preece, has put together a consortium to bid for the company.

A council spokeswoman said: ‘Labour councillors have exercised their right to “call in” the decision for further scrutiny. The matter will be considered by the overview and scrutiny commission.’

Last month, council leader Vivien Pengelly said running a bus company was not a core council business, and Plymouth was one of the few councils left in the country to still own one (Surveyor, May 28).

‘Just because we’ve always done something one way, doesn’t mean that we should continue. Most councils took the decision to sell years ago,’ she added.

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