CONSULTANTS were paid £150,000 to draw up plans for Bridgwater over the next two decades, the Mercury can reveal.

A Freedom of Information request has revealed almost half of a £355,000 grant, given by the South-West Regional Development Agency to Sedgemoor District Council, was handed over to consultants Gillespies to draw up plans for the multi-agency Bridgwater Challenge project.

Those plans, which went on public display in the summer, suggest how parts of Bridgwater, including the docks and the town centre, could be redeveloped in the future.

Cllr Roger Lavers, opposition Labour leader on Sedgemoor District Council, said: “It does seem an excessive amount for a document that perhaps has not been that well publicised anyway.

“It is all very well producing a glossy brochure, but the important thing is working out how we are going to set about development.”

Paul Sobczyk, Bridgwater Challenge project manager, said the plans drawn up by Gillespies were a vital part of the district council's local development framework - a strategic plan for how the area will provide thousands of new homes and jobs.

Mr Sobczyk said: “The plans present an essential masterplan for the town's projects - the new schools programme, new skills centre, housing, a better transport system, new open space and most importantly a revitalised town centre.”

Freedom of Information documents also reveal that Sedgemoor District Council chief executive Kerry Rickards has claimed more than £12,300 in expenses in the last three years, including more than £3,000 on mileage in the financial year 2008/09.

Mr Rickards, whose salary is between £99,000 and £110,000, told the Mercury: “We are always conscious about our carbon footprint, but at the end of the day sometimes I can't go on the bus or train because it would take too long.”