A move will be made tonight to push Liverpool Council into 'urgently reviewing' the controversial Lime Street revamp after the authority's contractor collapsed into administration.
Councillors have described the project as an 'appalling mess' and an emergency motion has been submitted to tonight's Environmental Select Committee.
That motion comes from Greenbank Labour Councillor Laura Robertson Collins, who quit her job as cabinet member for the environment in April in protest at the Lime Street upgrade.
Read more: Contractor carrying out Lime Street redevelopment collapses into administration
She and numerous other councillors are unhappy that the work - which will see Lime Street reduced to a single lane of traffic in each direction and creating more public space - will actually cut off south to north city bus routes.
Yesterday, it was confirmed that the council's main contractor on the Lime Street job, NMCN, had entered administration after failing to sign off its 2020 accounts and secure a re-financing of the business.
The city council said it is currently awaiting more information before taking its next steps, but it seems highly likely that the controversial project - which had recently entered its final phase - will be delayed.
The news has given opponents to the scheme the chance to once again call for a halt and a rethink on some key aspects of the work.
Cllr Robertson Collins will present a motion this evening, which will say: "This committee asks that the cabinet member urgently review the plans for Lime Street and utilises this appalling mess as an opportunity to create a transport system fit for a city that has declared a climate emergency, and is being mandated to urgently clean up our air."
And the Greenbank Councillor isn't the only one calling for change.
City Centre Councillor Nick Small last night responded to news of NMCN's administration by stating: "There's an opportunity for a reset here.
"Make the Lime Street scheme more bus friendly, bring back north-south bus connectivity and scrap the planned new water feature. Repair the historic Steble Fountain instead."
Lib Dem leader Richard Kemp is a long time critic of the scheme, he added: "Let's use this opportunity created by a temporary cessation of work to get it right now. The incompetence of Liverpool Council is breath-taking when it comes to roads."
He added: "“it is clear that there is still much wrong with the transport engineering section of the council. This is the third contractor in a year to go broke causing chaos as the council scrambles to sort out half completed schemes. We must look closely about our procurement systems and how we undertake due diligence in a highly competitive sector."
In its statement, the council said: "“We have been made aware that NMCN may have unfortunately entered into administration.
"Officers have been tasked with securing Lime Street and making it safe, whilst we await formal confirmation. The council will be seeking clarification on the matter to inform our next steps.”
As well as the concerns about the design of the Lime Street scheme, images recently sent to the ECHO also suggested the work may have resulted in some damage to St George's Plateau, with claims the famous lion plinths had suffered damage during the upgrade work.
Lime Street is part of the highly controversial City Centre Connectivity Scheme - which also includes The Strand upgrade - and the overall project is already set to go £13m over budget.
A recent council report revealed that spending on the city-wide scheme is set to rise from £55.8m to £68.8m.
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