Ryde councillors stayed in a CBD hotel for a two-day meeting less than half an hour from home

Ratepayers have been left with the bill after the City of Ryde council booked a CBD hotel for a two-day planning meeting – despite the venue being just 13km from home.

The Liberal party’s newly-installed candidate for Ryde joined fellow councillors at a five-star city hotel for a “planning weekend” 13 kilometres from home that cost ratepayers up to $10,000.

Ryde mayor Jordan Lane, who was last week preselected to contest the state seat, was among around 15 councillors and staff who stayed at the Hyatt Regency in the CBD last Saturday night, even though it’s a 20 minute drive from Ryde.

Labor has slammed the event as a “staycation” and said none of its councillors stayed the night.

The Hyatt Regency advertises its basic rooms at more than $400 per night.

The council refused to say how much the weekend cost ratepayers, saying only that it “provided strong value for ratepayers” because councillors and staff provided “unpaid participation”.

Ryde Mayor Jordan Lane (right) billed ratepayers hundreds of dollars for an overnight stay in the CBD as part of a council-organised weekend “planning meeting”. Picture: supplied.

With 15 rooms, meals and other associated costs of a two-day event for 20 people, the bill would have likely been close to $10,000.

Mr Lane, who was elected by council as mayor earlier this year, yesterday said he understood the hip pocket pain hitting his community, days after they paid for him and his colleagues to stay in luxury accommodation.

“Ryde is an expensive area to live in … I live in an apartment with my partner because I can’t afford a home but I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else because of the great schools, open spaces and community we have in Ryde,” he said.

State Labor MP Rose Jackson slammed the meeting as a “staycation” which does not “pass the pub test”.

“This is an outrageous waste of ratepayer money at a time when everyone is feeling the pinch of the cost of living crisis,” she said yesterday.

The planning weekend began at 8.30am on Saturday with “coffee on arrival”.

Council staff organised the weekend meeting in the city which state Labor has blasted as a “staycation”.

Jordan Lane has been preselected for the NSW electorate of Ryde at the next state election. Picture: AAP IMAGE / Robert Pozo

An agenda indicated councillors had nine hours of work across the weekend.

The first 90 minute session included an update on the council’s new structure followed by an update on Ryde Central, the West Ryde masterplan and the Local Environmental Plan.

Sunday’s sessions finished at 12.30pm.

Ms Jackson questioned why the event was not held in Ryde.

“There are ample facilities and small businesses in Ryde that would have loved to host and cater for this event,” she said. “Clearly the mayor thinks he’s too good for the conference centres and hotels of Ryde, Eastwood and Macquarie Park.”

The weekend was organised by council staff, with around 20 people attending on Saturday and 15 on Sunday.

Two of Labor’s four councillors skipped Sunday’s sessions and the other two left early.

Mr Lane defended the weekend meeting as an example of “both sides of politics (coming) together” to address planning legislation.

While no Labor councillor stayed the night, The Daily Telegraph was told councillor Charles Song withdrew at the last minute, meaning the council was still billed.

Mr Lane defended the two-day planning weekend.

“After years of failed planning policy under Labor, I am pleased that both sides of politics came together to finally start fixing Ryde’s broken planning laws,” he said.

“It was a decision of the professional council staff where to hold the planning workshop, and I took part as is appropriate given my longstanding commitment to planning reform.”

A council spokesman said planning forums are “important … and common practice”.