Welsh Government auditors are reviewing project management, contracting and procurement at a council that entered into a 35-year lease for premises it can’t use.

Conwy council has already paid approaching £1m for costs associated with units 6, 7, 8 and part of unit 5 at Mochdre Commerce Park on Conwy Road, which it leased in 2016.

The idea was to centralise its fleet of heavy goods vehicles – but found out after signing on the dotted line the floors couldn’t take their weight.

It is currently locked into a £240,000-a-year lease agreement with service charges on top for at least another 11 years.

Despite the council refusing to release a report it commissioned into the bungle, the Wales Audit Office has seen it.

It decided to review the council’s procedures for managing projects, drawing up contracts and paying for goods and services on the strength of its findings.

A spokeswoman for the Wales Audit Office said it could still call a full investigation into the deal should new information come to light.

She said: “We are not minded to undertake specific audit work in respect of the lease arrangement at this point of time.

“However, we reserve the right to do so in the future if matters come to our attention that were not considered by the external review, or we consider that there are issues that should be brought to the attention of the public.

“We are, however, currently carrying out a council-wide audit review of project management, contracting and procurement arrangements due to concerns expressed within the external review report regarding these arrangements.”

A council spokeswoman said it welcomes “external feedback” and admitted the lease “had not been subject to the same governance process” as other major contracts.

She added: “This is what led to steps being missed when we entered into the new arrangement at Mochdre.

“Last year, an independent, external review found that there were process failings in the way that we took on the new lease at Mochdre.”

On top of the £845,184 paid in rent and service charges so far, the council instructed solicitors DWF LLP to write a report into the debacle.

The law firm has been paid more than £90,000 to date according to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request.

The council confirmed all business rates paid on the dormant building had been repaid to it and “there is no ongoing liability”.

The rent for the council’s portion of Mochdre Commerce Park can be reviewed every five years under the terms of the lease and there is a break clause inserted at 15 years.

That means, if the company doesn’t budge, tax-payers will be funding the building until 2031 – costing them £3.6m plus service charges.

Council Leader, Cllr Sam Rowlands said the report was a “very sobering read, with many parts highlighting weaknesses in our processes”.

The council’s spokeswoman said the authority had changed how it enters into leases.

She said staff roles and responsibilities had been “clarified” and “a new system of checks and balances” introduced so senior staff knew what was going on and had “final sign-off” on high value leases.

The council said it is still negotiating with site owners RR Sea Strand Limited over the lease.