KentTV: a decision £2 million pounds too late

11.40.00am GMT Thu 11th Feb 2010

Lib Dems at County Hall have welcomed the decision to pull the plug on KCC's controversial KentTV broadband channel. Conservative Council Leader Paul Carter has announced that the contract would end due to the "changed economic climate". But Trudy Dean, Lib Dem Leader of the Opposition, said the channel had cost nearly £2 million pounds and should never have been set up using taxpayers money.

She claimed KCC Conservative administration had chosen to run KentTV because the computer based channel avoided the normal ban on councils owning a TV channel. Trudy said:

"We have used every opportunity to expose the Conservatives use of tax payers money to buy their own private TV channel, and their attempts to exaggerate its performance. Much of the programme content was boring, so the viewing figures were disappointing, and the channel attracted no sponsorship. This decision is £2 million pounds too late."

The announcement was made hours before Roger Gough, the Cabinet Member responsible for deciding KentTVs future was due to appear before KCC's Cabinet Scrutiny Committee, which Trudy Dean chairs.

Cabinet Scrutiny Committee had previously suggested that Council rules on Officer's Conduct should be reviewed when it was revealed that Chief Executive Peter Gilroy, who chaired the KentTV Board of Governors, had not acted improperly when he extended the contract to KentTV by seven months in order to allow more time to monitor its performance. KCC Personnel Committee, chaired by Conservative leader Paul Carter, considered the request, but resolved to take no action.