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Search the Public Notice PortalA ROW has erupted over who is to blame for a major York project which is now more than £34 million over budget.
City of York Council’s ruling Labour and opposition Liberal Democrat groups have traded blame for the overspend on the Station Gateway scheme, the bill for which currently stands at £60.1 million.
Opposition Liberal Democrat leader Cllr Nigel Ayre said the overspend was one of the authority’s biggest financial failures and called on Labour major projects spokesperson Cllr Katie Lomas to resign.
Cllr Lomas said the Liberal Democrats should apologise for approving a fantasy budget and reckless contract before they left office, leaving the current administration to sort out the mess.
The trading of blows is the latest since an audit ruled there were ‘critical’ weaknesses in the management of the scheme which began in 2023 with a budget of £26 million.
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Veritau auditors found the council entered contracts for the works ‘at risk’ before legal agreements had sufficiently progressed, with changes to the project later causing delays and pushing up costs.
It also found there were significant delays in reporting overspends on the project which stopped them being dealt with sooner.
The project, which remains ongoing, was originally set to be finished by May last year.
An update to the council’s executive earlier in July stated costs had climbed by a further £5.4 million in the previous year due to unforeseen works required on the project.
Council officials have said most of the extra costs will be covered using cash unspent on other transport projects.
An impression showing how improvements at the front of York Station underway as part of the Station Gateway scheme could look
(Image: City of York Council)
The latest row about the scheme centres on the timeline of decisions taken on the contract for the works in 2023.
Local elections took place in May that year which saw the current Labour administration take power and the Liberal Democrats, which ran the council with the Greens, go into opposition.
Council officers formally issued the contract to John Sisk & Son in April 2023.
The decision appointed the firm to undertake early contractor involvement activity as part of phase one ahead of the main contract starting in September.
The preferred bidder had been informed in November 2022.
The contract the council entered in to placed all the risk on the authority for any changes or overruns during the project, including unforeseen works, leaving it to foot the bill.
Cllr Ayre pointed to Cllr Lomas’ recent response to a question saying the scheme had been changed after Labour took office undermined their ability to blame the overspend on the previous administration.
Cllr Lomas told the full council meeting on Thursday, July 16 they had looked at guidance and legislation including on cycling and accessibility infrastructure and approved changes accordingly.
The Liberal Democrat leader said the comments came despite a report on separate plans for the recently-approved Wilton Rise footbridge saying LTN 1/20 guidance does not need to be strictly followed.
Cllr Ayre said: “York taxpayers are now looking at a project that started with a £26 million budget and is heading towards more than £60 million.
“Yet there has still been no apology, no proper explanation of the decision-making and no acceptance of political responsibility.
“The people of York deserve accountability after the biggest capital project overspend this council has ever seen.”
Labour’s Cllr Lomas said the Liberal Democrats had approved a contract with no cost controls or regard for disabled people’s needs.
The major projects spokesperson said: “The Liberal Democrats owe the residents of York an apology.
“As soon as we became aware of the scale of their mess, we set about fixing it, which we have done.
“Sadly, that was too late for much of the Station Gateway project, but we have ensured that, under a Labour administration, such reckless contracts are never entered into again.”