Leonard Street mystery: secrecy over Hackney Mayor Jules Pipe’s gallery purchase

The Leonard Street property bought by Hackney Council for a mystery sum. Photograph: Josh Loeb

Hackney Council is refusing to say how much of taxpayer’s money it used to buy a building in Shoreditch, currently an art gallery, from mystery sellers.

Despite the public footing the (presumably large) bill for the purchase of 96-98 Leonard Street, the lips of Town Hall spokespeople have remained sealed shut on the issue of the purchase price.

Documents relating to the cost have been classified as “restricted” by the Town Hall.

The sellers’ identity is unknown, but, mysteriously, the last planning application relating to 96-98 Leonard Street was lodged under the names ‘Leonard 1’ and ‘Leonard 2’.

In response to a Freedom of Information (FoI) request from the Hackney Citizen asking what the purchase price was the council claimed releasing this information would be “damaging”.

The decision to purchase the freehold on 96-98 Leonard Street was made by Hackney’s Mayor Jules Pipe at a meeting at the Town Hall at 3.30pm on 5 February entitled simply ‘Decision of the Executive Mayor.’

‘Undermine commercial interests’

In reply to the FoI request Hackney Council’s Corporate Director of Finance and Resources Ian Williams wrote: “The council is refusing to release the price under Section 43(2) of the Freedom of Information Act. This is where information is exempt if its disclosure would, or would be likely to prejudice the commercial interests of any person (including the public authority holding it).

“Disclosure of the price would undermine the commercial interests of the council.

“When the property purchase came before the Mayor for an Executive Decision to be made the report was exempted by virtue of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972.  

“The council asserts that the confidentiality of the withheld information is provided by law.

“The exemption is therefore engaged.  

“The council believes that the price information should be withheld to protect a legitimate economic interest underlying commercial confidentiality.  

“The council recognises the public interest in releasing the price however this is outweighed by the damage that could be caused in light of the financial information which is set out in the report and the prejudice to the council’s position if the information in the report were to be released.

“For the reasons set out above the council considers that the public interest arguments in favour of withholding this information outweighs the public interest in its release.  The council therefore will not be releasing the information as the transaction is still being finalised.”

Related: 

Landlord of council-subsidised cafe Hackney Heart is Labour activist