Darwin party cost £730,000

The final bill for a year-long party in Shropshire to celebrate the 200th birthday of Shrewsbury-born Charles Darwin was £730,000, it was revealed today.

The budget had originally been set at £500,000 but the celebrations actually cost almost half as much again. It also emerged today that police were called in to investigate the construction of Shrewsbury's controversial Quantum Leap artwork in October, following a complaint to officers.

• Was it all worth it? Special report in today's Shropshire Star

Police quickly decided responsibility for any probe should rest with Shropshire Council. Internal auditors from the authority launched an investigation, which is continuing. Police did not bring any criminal charges.

More details were also revealed today on the item-by-item spending, with officials allocating almost £1,500 on balloons, a birthday cake and party invitations.

A £10,000 grant was awarded to an organisation that wanted to develop a Darwin website and more than £2,000 was paid to train staff on how to be helpful to visitors. Those sums were in addition to the construction cost of Quantum Leap, which was to cost £350,000 but spiralled £483,000. It would have been £150,000 higher but an in-kind donation was made to the council.

Today Councillor Jon Tandy, who has been critical of the Darwin celebrations, said: "We wanted a year where members of the public were allowed to get involved. We didn't want money to be wasted willy nilly.

"In the final analysis, too few members of the public were involved. Quantum Leap was too expensive and too controversial, particularly at a time when there have been cuts in front-line services."

But George Candler, Shropshire Council's assistant director for culture and leisure, said a lot of decisions regarding celebrations were made by the former Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council.