Yahoo News Council U-turn on revealing full cost of Nuneaton's Bermuda bridge project
Warwickshire County Council has refused to reveal the final full cost of Nuneaton's Bermuda Bridge project. Shire Hall stood firm on the stance taken last year that the public would not find out the true costs until after the project had finished.
Now that the bridge has opened, CoventryLive submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for the final costs, from the start to completion, including the costs incurred by the well documented delays. In a response, the council said it considered the information exempt under Section 43 of the FOIA - Prejudice to Commercial Interests.
"This is because there is a highly probable risk that providing this information would disclose commercially sensitive information and/or confidential Information relating to the third parties' business, products, services and financial advice of a confidential nature," the response read
"The disclosure of this information would be likely to prejudice a third parties' commercial interests in a free market place, as the information in question could enable a competitor to gain an unfair advantage by knowing detailed information about their business."
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We have appealed the FOI response. In the meantime, The last publicly known figure was revealed at a county council scrutiny meeting last week, with £16,192,000 being the latest cost.
The original estimated budge for the project £3.702 million. The latest figure shows that the project is already four times over budget.
Available in the 'autumn'
CoventryLive contacted the county council about the decision not to make the final costings publicly available now as pledged. In a statement, a spokesperson said: "The overall cost of the works is being finalised with the contractor.
"During this process the details are commercially sensitive and therefore must remain confidential. It is anticipated that final scheme costs will be made available later this year once the final account process has concluded."
