THE Audit Commission has thrown out complaints that the redevelopment of Abingdon’s Old Gaol was a bad deal for taxpayers.

The Vale of White Horse District Council asked the independent watchdog to review the deal after residents raised concerns about the sale of the former leisure centre to developer Cranbourne Holdings.

The £25m project in Bridge Street will see the construction of 61 two- and three-bedroom homes including eight penthouses with terraces overlooking the River Thames.

Twenty-four affordable homes are also being provided as part of the deal – 14 in Harcourt Way and 10 on the site of the former ambulance station, in Springfield Road.

Abingdon-based Cranbourne was chosen by the council in 2007 to buy and develop the site following a competitive bidding exercise and lengthy negotiations.

But the council has refused to divulge how much it was paid by Cranborne.

The deal also had to be renegotiated with late last year following the downturn in the economy and the slump in the property market.

Campaigners had wanted a community arts centre, cinema or theatre included in the development.

Work was due to begin last year, but Cranbourne said archaeological digs and talks with “various bodies were taking longer than expected”.

The project will include shops and restaurants and will result in the riverside gardens being open to the public for the first time.

District council leader Tony de Vere said: “I am convinced this deal offers the best outcome for the town.

“I am delighted the Audit Commission has endorsed this view. I hope this will put an end to people’s concerns.

“We called in the Audit Commission because we were confident we had acted correctly and they have confirmed this is the case.”

Hester Hand, formerly of the campaign group Community in the Old Gaol, said: “I am pleased to hear the commercial negotiations are above board.

“We look forward to seeing the work get under way and the site reopened to the public.”

The scheme is dependent on certain requirements being met.

These include archaeological work, resiting an electricity substation and an order closing part of Turnagain Lane.

The Audit Commission concluded that the project offered by Cranbourne was the best on the table.

It said in its report that, even after the deal was renegotiated, Cranbourne’s offer was the best.

The Old Gaol, a listed building, was constructed by French prisoners during the Napoleonic Wars. It opened in 1811 and housed all Berkshire’s prisoners until the 1860s.

It was used as a leisure centre between 1974 and 2002, when it closed after the opening of the White Horse Leisure and Tennis Centre See the Audit Commission report under topical issues in the news and views section at whitehorsedc.gov.uk