Cornwall Council has been ordered to repay more than £2.1 million in European funding after the High Court ruled that procurement failures led to an improper contract award for a bridge project at Chiverton Cross.
The council challenged a decision by the government to recover £2,121,431.66 in European Regional Development Funding (ERDF), arguing that its approach to awarding the contract had been justified. However, the Administrative Court dismissed the challenge and upheld the clawback.
The case centred on the construction of a new walking, cycling and horse-riding bridge as part of the wider Chiverton Cross A30 improvement scheme.
Cornwall Council awarded the work directly to the Costain Jacobs Partnership (CJP), the contractor already delivering the nearby A30 dualling project, without opening the contract to wider competition.
The council argued that appointing CJP was a practical and efficient solution. It said the contractor already had the necessary knowledge of the site, established working arrangements and experience of delivering the wider highways project, helping to reduce delays and disruption.
However, the court found that the council had not met the legal requirements needed to justify awarding the contract without a competitive procurement process.
The judgment also examined a separate tender exercise and found concerns over requirements relating to the use of Cornish sub-consultants, which were considered discriminatory.
The court accepted that there were practical reasons behind the council’s decision, but ruled that these did not override the need to comply with procurement rules.
The ruling highlights the challenges facing local authorities when delivering major infrastructure projects, particularly where speed and continuity must be balanced against legal obligations around openness and competition.
Councils are required to demonstrate that procurement decisions follow the correct procedures, even where appointing an existing contractor may appear to offer benefits in terms of efficiency, cost or project management.
Cornwall Council said it had acted in good faith and maintained that the bridge project delivered significant benefits for residents and visitors by improving walking, cycling and equestrian links around one of Cornwall’s busiest transport junctions.
Photo: Ben Elliott
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