MONEY was lost and the people of York did not get best value from the sale of the city's Barbican Centre.

That was the conclusion of City of York Council's ad hoc scrutiny committee which met last night to consider an interim report investigating the arrangements surrounding the sale of the Barbican site and to identify lessons that could be learned.

Members of the committee looked at why the sale contract was not signed, sealed and delivered until after May 2003 and tried to understand the changes in land values with a view to whether best value was achieved.

The committee also examined whether the council lost capital due to the decisions taken and set out to understand the effects of the public consultation process.

Clifton Labour councillor, Ken King said: "Mistakes have been made and we should say so and, if that's an embarrassment to one party or another, then that's just tough.

"We need to get to the truth about the Barbican for the people of York. That's what we're here for."

Committee chairman, Coun Janet Looker, said: "The conclusion to the whole sorry saga is a disaster. In February 2003 we were going to have a swimming pool as well as an entertainment facility and in February 2008 we had none of it, no swimming pool and an entertainment facility that's still looking derelict, and not even any houses."

Councillors agreed there should have been proper reviews of practice as the process developed and that continual changes in the brief and a protracted consultation process led to inevitable delays.

The redevelopment has been plagued by delays since City of York Council first decided to sell off the complex to the private sector.

First, there were lengthy planning, legal and licensing hurdles to clear for Absolute Leisure, as the Save Our Barbican (SOB) group fought a campaign against the loss of sporting facilities and the extension of night- time leisure facilities.

SOB claimed the company wanted to turn the centre into a massive nightclub, which could cause disturbance to local residents.

The company originally hoped to start work on revamping the centre early in 2007 and then later in the year, but was unable to do so.

The delays caused the Barbican to lose the right to host the 2007 UK Snooker Tournament, which had been held there for several years.

Then the organiser of the Miss England beauty contest revealed that while the centre would have been ideal to host next summer's contest, she could not be absolutely sure it would be available and so she was choosing a London hotel instead.

Today, the Barbican remains empty and unused.