A private firm is to be lent five million pounds of taxpayer's cash to build an adventure playground in Tatton Park, it has been confirmed.

Cheshire East will lend Norfolk based Bure Valley Adventures Ltd the money to build the attraction in the grounds of the historic estate.

They will also pay for £1.5 million of surrounding infrastructure such as an access road and car park to complement the scheme.

The company will then build the attraction and manage it themselves under a 20-year lease, paying back the loan over a 12-year period.

The details are contained in a report released by the council yesterday after a ruling from the Information Commissioner's office (ICO).

CEC initially refused to release the report to cabinet from August 2011 after a Freedom of Information Request from a local resident.

However they were last week ordered them to do so and published this afternoon.

The report reveals the lease agreement with Bure Valley will mean the project falls outside of the EU procurement rules, which the authority was found to have fallen foul of during the Lyme Green scandal.

It also acknowledges there are risks to the project, such as Bure Valley failing to go ahead with construction or less than expected visitor numbers.

But CEC will have the right to 'step-in' and take over the running of the attraction if that is the case, the report says.

Meanwhile the council says it is taking the release of the report as an opportunity to start a “fresh conversation” on the future of Tatton Park.

They say they will push ahead with the BeWILDerwood scheme as they believe it fits the 'brand and ethos' of the park and will put it on a sound financial footing.

A new planning application for the scheme is expected to be lodged shortly.

Councillor Jamie Macrae, cabinet member for prosperity and economic regeneration said: “We are choosing to move forward with the BeWILDerwood attraction as we feel it would be sympathetic to the park’s natural woodland environment.

“Additionally, we are confident it will attract new family groups to Tatton, create new jobs and open up a part of the estate that was previously inaccessible to the public.

 “There is a range of groups in the local community that want to secure the future of Tatton. Now is the time for all of us with an interest in its future to work together to achieve this.

 “The current planning application will shortly be resubmitted and I would encourage people to engage with us during the consultation period to let us know their thoughts.”

On the ICO ruling he added: “We understand the interest in this matter but we have taken the appropriate advice at all stages of the process and have acted fully within this.

“The Information Commissioner has accepted this but we felt it was important to clear the air, so that we could start a fresh and more positive conversation about the best way to secure Tatton’s future.”

But a spokesman for the Save Tatton Action Group (STAG), who have campaigned vigorously against the plans, said: “The report confirms much of what we have been saying regarding the millions Cheshire East is planning to borrow to lend to a Norfolk business to build the theme park.

"It also raises very worrying questions as to the financial sustainability of BeWILDerwood over a 20 year period. We, the Cheshire East Council tax payers appear to be taking all the risk on a project which the business behind the concept can't even begin to fund itself.”

"We'd also like to thank the Knutsford resident who pursued the Freedom of Information request and made the appeal to the Information Commissioner which led to Cheshire East being ordered to make public the report."