Council could face 'unlimited' bill over A46 'bridge to nowhere' near Kenilworth

Issues related to the new roundabout that is to straddle and serve the A46 in Kenilworth were raised twice in questions to cabinet members followed by a 15-minute behind-closed-doors briefing held in private session.

The £38 million project, announced in December 2020, was set to be completed by the summer of 2022 but work has now been delayed for longer than it was due to last for.

Papers published by the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) – one of the council’s funding partners – last month stated that “any overspend against the original scheme budget will need to be met” by the county under the terms of the agreement, highlighting for the first time a “contractual dispute” between the council and its chosen contractors Colas.

The council had previously acknowledged an anticipated cost overrun of £4.6 million, stating that it was “exploring various options” with the overspend set to be “materially impacted by the adjudication decision about a number of complex issues”.

Updates published to the council’s website have since acknowledged that the further delays “will impact the scheme costs” which are “subject to ongoing negotiations”.

It added that the extra costs are “not fully ascertained at this time” with the two parties having “different views on liabilities” which would “take time to resolve” but it was also said that “we are both committed to completing the scheme”.

The council says the issue relates to the inability to source backfill material required for the abutments on the new bridge. A redesign is underway which must be signed off by National Highways, the organisation that will take ownership of the bridge once operational.

Councillor Jonathan Chilvers (Green, Leamington Brunswick) started the quest for more information.

“The publicly available report stated that Warwickshire County Council was responsible for funding all of the overspend on the A46 Stoneleigh Junction project,” he said.

“Has the council potentially exposed itself to unlimited financial liability in the way it agreed to underwrite this project?”

Councillor Jan Matecki (Con, Budbrooke & Bishop’s Tachbrook), the county’s political lead on highways, did not deny that assertion.

“The delivery under the construction contract is with the council with the inherent risk of ensuring it is delivered, and in doing so the potential for any additional cost,” he replied.

“That is a normal contracting risk but the contract does not govern where different liabilities are between the parties to the contract in meeting additional spending.”

Cllr Chilvers sought to press further with his permitted follow-up question.

“Could you confirm that what the West Midlands Combined Authority says is correct, that it is purely the county that has done the underwriting of this,” he said.

“I think what you are saying is that yes, we potentially have exposed ourselves to unlimited liabilities. Is that correct?”

Cllr Matecki declined to elaborate.

“I’ve given my statement and I’m not making any further comment. This is a very sensitive issue and I am not going into it any further,” he said.

Councils are given discretion to handle commercially sensitive matters behind closed doors and councillors, including those in charge of departments, are expected to respect confidentiality on such matters when guided to by council officers – the employed professionals.

Councillor Jerry Roodhouse (Lib Dem, Eastlands) later asked Cllr Matecki to undertake to make a public statement in relation to the project “in order to reassure council tax payers in Warwickshire”.

Cllr Matecki referred to the information pages on the council’s website, adding: “These pages will continue to be updated until the project is complete.”

They can be found by visiting: warwickshire.gov.uk/a46stoneleighjunction