Green Party councillors found themselves compelled into a confidential vote on the future of Warwickshire County Council’s so-called “Bridge to Nowhere” despite their best efforts to challenge the secrecy.
Councillor Jonathan Chilvers and his colleague Councillor Keith Kondakor tried to question whether the update on the delayed A46 Stoneleigh Junction project needed to happen behind closed doors.
Cllr Chilvers was refused permission to speak, while Cllr Kondakor was blocked twice from raising a point of order by chair Councillor Ed Harris.
The council’s livestream captured chief executive Monica Fogarty prompting the chair’s decisions, including telling him there was “no provision for speaking”.
The Green Party duo later clarified they never wanted commercially sensitive details discussed publicly, but argued project updates and the financial knock-on effects shouldn’t be hidden from taxpayers.
The numbers behind the project paint a bleak picture. When a Conservative cabinet first approved the scheme back in 2016, it was estimated to cost £21million.
By the time detailed plans got the green light, the figure had climbed to £38million with money pooled together by various funding partners.
The latest published estimate stands at a whopping £57million – more than two-and-a-half times the original budget.
Green Party councillors found themselves compelled into a confidential vote on the future of Warwickshire County Council’s so-called ‘Bridge to Nowhere’ despite their best efforts to challenge the secrecy
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Material shortages for the access roads also forced a complete redesign of the scheme, pushing the completion date back to summer 2027 – a staggering five years later than originally planned.
The bridge currently sits disconnected over the A46 near Kenilworth.
During the meeting, when Cllr Kondakor asked “Could we wait a moment?” before the vote on excluding press and public, council leader Councillor George Finch jumped in: “Why? Why are we waiting? We’ve never done that before.”
Ms Fogarty then stood up to address everyone directly. “Councillors, to be clear, there is no provision for a debate. It is simply to ask councillors to agree with the statement,” she declared.
Cllr Kondakor pushed back: “But we have the option of not agreeing. We should be able to explain why we don’t agree.”
The bridge, on the A46 Stoneleigh Junction near Kenilworth, is due to be completed in 2027, five years later than the original date
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The chief executive’s response was blunt: “There is no such provision to not agree.”
“This whole project is a massive disaster and it is so big that it has a knock-on impact to the rest of the county’s finances,” Cllr Chilvers told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
“It means that some of the schemes in each individual areas or towns, like keeping areas around schools safe, might not happen.
“Some of this has to be confidential because we are still negotiating with contractors but some of this should have been in the public domain.”
When asked what should have been discussed openly, he pointed to “the general knock-on impact for the public’s finances”.
The council has repeatedly pointed to commercial sensitivity as justification for keeping discussions private, particularly given ongoing negotiations with contractors Colas.
Earlier this year, then-portfolio holder Peter Butlin accidentally revealed an extra £16million had been set aside for cost overruns, but critics argue non-financial updates are also being kept secret unnecessarily.
Cllr Kondakor said: “If we are doing things in confidence, that should at least be voted on in public – it’s not like all councillors are happy with the stuff that’s happening.”
The council confirmed the private vote means construction will restart in January 2026.