PROTESTERS have complained to the district auditor about the deal which allows Absolute Leisure to run York's Barbican Centre for the next 250 years.

The Save Our Barbican campaign (SOB) claimed that City of York Council failed to go out to competitive tender properly before giving the company the lease on the auditorium on "give away terms".

The campaign said the complex was separate and distinct from the rest of the site, where developers Barbican Venture want to build 240 apartments and a hotel.

SOB had concerns that Absolute Leisure had been offered the lease without any other leisure company being notified that the buildings were on offer as a separate deal from the rest of the development.

It claimed the tendering process for the whole site was carried out in 2001, during which prospective bidders were only required to nominate a leisure company operator "who would manage the Barbican auditorium on behalf of the developer."

SOB said it was not until February, 2004, some three years after the completion of the tendering process, that the council executive offered Absolute Leisure a separate conditional development agreement and lease.

"We believe that this clearly shows that Absolute Leisure never took part in a competitive tendering process for the deal they were granted and, in fact, were offered the ridiculous terms in private by the present executive without recourse to other council members.

"If our theory is proved right, then Absolute Leisure should not be allowed possession of the Barbican complex under these circumstances."

SOB said that if it was wrong in its complaint, it looked forward to seeing adverts to the leisure industry inviting competitive bids for the purchase of a 250-year lease for the complex, and details of other bidders who responded to this.

A council spokeswoman said the letter raised issues that the district auditor would need to respond to.

She said: "However, the council went through a competitive process to sell the whole site to developers. Barbican Venture won this competition by putting in the best bid. Barbican Venture was a consortium consisting of a house builder, other parties and Absolute Leisure.

"At a later date, it became clear that the development of parts of the site would best progress at different timescales and the provisional agreement with Barbican Venture was split into its component parts of which the auditorium was one.

"There is, in the council's view, no benefit to be gained from re-tendering for the auditorium alone, as this could have put at risk the whole development and would not have led to best value being obtained for York residents."