A council chief executive is set to join the board of the Cardiff Capital Region.
The group, made up of ten local councils in South East Wales - including the Vale of Glamorgan - paid £5.25m to a company that lost out on a contract to demolish Aberthaw power station after a High Court judge ruled it had been unlawfully awarded to a rival firm.
The local authorities have had to foot the bill, leading to criticism from Senedd members as well as its own scrutiny committee of backbench councillors from across the region.
The region set up CCR Energy as a limited company to buy and redevelop the former coal-fired powers station as a “green energy park”, including a tidal energy scheme, a solar park, on and off shore wind farms, battery storage and a data centre under a £38.6m project.
It's now proposed that Paul Matthews, the CEO of Monmouthshire council, is appointed as an executive director of the firm until at least April 2026.
Mr Matthews is to put a report before Monmouthshire council’s full meeting on Thursday asking them to approve his appointment.
The company is run by its management team and a board of directors, that can include up to six executive directors and up to five non-executive directors of which Mr Matthews would be one if the appointment is approved.
The report states the appointment will require a “time commitment” from Mr Matthews depending on the business of the board but there is no remuneration on top of the £131,000 salary he receives as Monmoutshire Council's chief executive.
The appointment, which would run up to the council's annual general meeting in April, could be subject to renewal.
The South East Wales Corporate Joint Committee, the formal name for the super council for the Cardiff Capital Region, also has a reserved decision making role related to CCR Energy, which owns the Aberthaw site..
Accountancy firm Deloitte has been preparing a report for the committee on the procurement decision which was ruled unlawful.
Cardiff Capital Region said the payout has been funded from interest on the balances it holds without impacting its projects or needing any further funding from the councils.
The company purchased the former power station in 2022 and awarded the demolition contract in 2023 to a company called Erith, but Cardiff Council, which had run the procurement, admitted liability in court after lawyers for Brown and Mason Limited challenged the contract.
The committee is currently chaired by Monmouthshire council’s Labour leader Mary Ann Brocklesby.
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