White leather sofas, a 65-inch flat screen TV and the latest apple iMac computer are among additions to the Ashford Borough Council offices – a refurbishment that has cost taxpayers more than £70,000.

Following a Freedom of Information request submitted by the Kentish Express, it was discovered that the new office of council leader Gerry Clarkson cost nearly £7,000 alone.

The second-floor revamp at the Civic Centre in Tannery Lane also included a new office for council chief executive John Bunnett, a meeting room, a reception area and desk space for around 30 staff.

Reported by the Kent Messenger. You can read the full story here. 

Matthew Burgess
http://www.mattburgess.co
I am a journalist and author. I am a journalist at the UK edition of WIRED magazine. In 2015, my first book Freedom of Information: A Practical Guide for UK Journalists, was published. My second book Reed Hastings: Building Netflix, was published in March 2020. I created FOI Directory in 2012 and have maintained it in my spare time ever since.