THE councillor behind the highly controversial Lendal Bridge trial was last night facing fresh calls to resign over his handling of the project.

Cllr Dave Merrett is at the centre of a new row over the closure, after opposition councillors forced the publication of a highly-critical report kept secret for five months.

The paper – which cost around £7,000 to produce – was written by management consultants commissioned by council leader James Alexander at the end of the bridge closure because, he said: “Clearly some people had concerns about the Lendal Bridge trial, and at that time it was clear it was not being run in the way we thought it should be.”

The report criticises political involvement in the trial, poor governance and unplanned decision-making, and says the key people involved had “confusing and conflicting recollections” of what went on.

It emerged when opposition members pushed for their own review of the trial. Liberal Democrat Andrew Waller said: “I am not sure how it would have come out otherwise. It was only when I was questioning council officers in relation to Lendal Bridge and a potential scrutiny review that I was alerted to its existence.

“How can you get work done out of public purse, and then not report it?”

Opposition councillors said they had no idea the paper existed.

Conservative leader Chris Steward said it was “ridiculous” for Cllr Merrett to keep his position in charge of the major Local Plan, in the light of the new criticisms.

He said: “It’s farcical that he was able to resign from his particular transport portfolio, and then say it is no issue at all to put him in charge of the local plan.”

Cllr Merrett did not return The Press’s calls yesterday but sent a written statement, saying he acted always for York’s best interests.

He said: “Lessons have been learned by me, by the council and by individual council officers in how schemes of this scope and complexity are delivered, but the report confirms I acted with integrity throughout.”

Council leader James Alexander called the Lendal Bridge saga a “witch hunt”. He said problems arose because council staff weren’t managing the project and politicians were forced to step in.

He said: “Bold decisions sometimes don’t go the way you would have hoped, but that does not mean that those decisions should not have been taken or that the council should fear taking decisions in the future.”

Cllr Alexander defended Cllr Merrett, saying he had taken responsibility by resigning from his role as transport boss, “a job he loved”.

He said it should not be down to politicians to project-manage as their responsibility lay with setting strategy.

Since the report was produced, the new interim director for city and environmental services, Sarah Tanburn, has introduced fresh project management procedures, and reduced the number of major transport projects so the council is not working beyond its capacity, Cllr Alexander said.

Ms Tanburn added: “Clearly it is important that the approval and delivery processes for projects - and the management of these processes – are robust.”

Read the report in full here>>