A protracted legal battle between Cumbria County Council and its former highways contractor has left the authority with a £21 million bill.

Leaked documents have revealed that the long-running dispute, which was finally resolved last year with a costly 42-day High Court trial, has left the council obliged to pay £11.6m to Amey, as well as its own £10m legal bill.

The company sued the authority after it refused to pay the final £4.2m it was owed after ending the seven-year contract.

The council accused Amey of “substandard” work.

The dispute triggered years of litigation, with Amey claiming £30m to cover that fee and work it did that was outside its original contract.

At the conclusion of the case, His Honour Judge Stephen Davies delivered his judgment this week, effectively handing a victory to Amey.

Reacting to the news of the legal bill, Carlisle MP John Stevenson hit out at the council for pursuing such a costly legal battle.

He said: “Never again must the county council get itself into this kind of situation where it ends up wasting huge amounts of tax payers’ money.


John Stevenson “I believe that the council believed it was doing the right thing in defending its budget in the courts but at the end of the day it was a bad call.

“It has taken a huge amount of money from front line services.”

The MP said that local authorities had to work within robust procedures that protect tax payers’ money.

The hugely complex case revolved around county council allegations that Amey delivered substandard highways maintenance, and overcharged for some services.

Until April of 2012, Amey was responsible for maintaining 4,800 miles of the county’s roads, along with 1,700 bridges, and 44,000 street lamps – all of it part of a £300m contract.

A confidential council report claimed some of the firm’s road repairs were so poor that potholes formed soon after they were repaired.

But the judge in the case rejected those claims.

In an earlier interview, former Cumbria County Council leader Eddie Martin, in office at the time the authority took highways maintenance back in-house, said the council acted correctly.