31 Jan 2015

Councillor hopes Westgate inquiry is thorough

2:34 pm on 31 January 2015

An Auckland councillor hopes the Auditor General's inquiry into the council's building of a new town centre in the city's north-west will be a thorough investigation.

An impression of the centre.

An impression of the centre. Photo: Supplied

The Auditor General has started an inquiry into a complaint about Auckland Council's management of the Westgate development project.

The development will incorporate a town square, a park, and a new library, with the main part of the centre due to open late this year.

Councillor Christine Fletcher said she welcomed the inquiry.

"I really hope that we can ensure that there is a thorough investigation into process."

She said ratepayers wanted to have confidence the council had good policy advice, with competitive tendering processes.

Auckland Council chief executive Stephen Town said the Council would co-operate fully with the inquiry.

The developer, the New Zealand Retail Property Group, said the Council had committed more than $200 million dollars to the project.

It was understood the complaint centred on what the Council paid for and some of the processes involved.