The Arts Council of Wales (ACW) has been slammed for allowing over £8m to be lavished on the Centre for the Visual Arts in Cardiff, without adequate checks on how the money was spent.

Auditor General for Wales, Sir John Bourn, told the Welsh Assembly that the Arts Council ignored the warnings of its own inspectors that the project was not progressing well.

The centre closed after 14 months; it attracted 47,000 visitors in its first year against a forecast of 250,000. The ACW said it had revised its assessment and monitoring procedures.