CEREDIGION County Council is refusing to reveal details of more than £10,000 in payments it made for legal services.

The Cambrian News asked to see a number of legal invoices after inspecting the council’s accounts in August, and was not provided with these heavily redacted documents until more than six weeks later.

In one invoice of February 2017, in which Cardiff legal firm Geldards bills the council £2,866.10 for adjudication services, the council has redacted a description of the adjudication work, making it impossible to scrutinise this payment.

In another invoice from 19 September 2016, the council has redacted all detail except for the payment amount of £9,000, and the invoice date.

The Cambrian News, which made the requests following rumours of a dispute between the council and the contractors for Aberystwyth Bandstand, WB Griffiths & Son Ltd, went back to the council to ask what legal justifications it was relying on in doing so.

Another five weeks later, following repeated delays, this paper was finally provided with the council’s reasoning.

With regards to the Geldards invoice of February, the council said the invoice had been redacted “because it contains legally privileged information”.

And referring to the September 2016 invoice, the council said: “This is a payment to an individual and the details have been redacted in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998.”

The Cambrian News has asked the Wales Audit Office whether the council is entitled to redact such documents to the extent it has done.