A COUNCILLOR has spoken of elected members’ frustration over being gagged from talking about North Ayrshire Council’s attempt to buy the Rivergate.

NAC has also refused to reveal the amount it spent preparing the bid – which has been alleged to have cost upwards of £500,000.

As previously reported by the Times, NAC has threatened all elected members with anything from ‘censure to disqualification’ as a councillor if they are found to breach the bid’s confidentiality.

At a meeting Irvine’s community council last week, members spoke of their concerns after a Freedom of Information request was refused by the local authority.

In response, Irvine West Cllr Shaun Macaulay said: “I can’t say much obviously for legal reasons, but the points you raise are very valid – and the councillors are certainly more than aware of that.

"We want to be open and accessible to the people that vote for us, it’s very frustrating when legally our hands are tied.

"It’s a really difficult position we’re put in.”

Secretary Amanda McFarlane said: “We put in a FoI on the total costs of the process of buying the Rivergate, total costs of consultancy/solicitor fees, staff costs, we asked who gave the authorisation to start the process, who gave authorisation to spend the money, and why the council felt it had to be kept secret.

“We got a reply saying they’re refusing to answer it because of its sensitive nature.”

North Ayrshire Council claimed how much council tax-payers money was spent was a 'trade secret' and could ‘prejudice’ its ‘commercial interests’.

However one councillor has suggested it could be more than £500,000.

When asked about NAC’s £160,000 awards spending, Conservative group leader Tom Marshall said: “Of even greater concern is the very larger sum of money that allegedly was recently spent by officers of the council on preparation for an abortive bid to purchase a large property in Irvine.

"It is alleged the sum spent was well over £500,000. What would this buy in terms of classroom assistants or care packages?”