POOLE council has ‘major lessons to learn’ in terms of its cost assessment and communications work, a review of its troubled Poole Bridge scheme has found.

Beset by delays, the multi-million pound refurbishment of the harbour crossing took seven months longer and cost more than had originally been expected – although the council will not say by how much.

A review of the reasons behind the setbacks has now been completed, following a request by Cllr Ian Potter earlier this year.

Carried out by Nigel Stannard, the council’s head of audit and management assurance, it identifies ‘major’ issues with how the initial business case was drawn-up and how it handled the public relations fall-out.

Part of the wider £23.3 million Port of Poole access improvement project, the refurbishment of the bridge had initially been forecast to cost £4.2 million, however this had risen to £5.5 million before tendering had even started.

Steel work repairs, uncharted remains of previous bridges and quay walls, unrecorded cables and delays in the delivery of parts and gate installations all contributed to the project being delayed seven times and a series of ‘cost escalations’, according to Mr Stannard’s report.

However, he said the delays were not due to ‘shortcomings’ with the council’s policies and governance arrangements and that enhancing them ‘would not necessarily prevent a similar situation arising again’.

Mr Stannard has also criticised the council for not challenging Interserve on its ‘overly optimistic’ re-opening dates and that it had been ‘overly reliant’ on its estimates.

He said: “Whilst the council strives to always be open and honest in the way it communicates with the public and press, some of the communications, particularly after July 2017, gave false optimism on when the bridge would re-open.

“Whilst it is easy in hindsight to conclude that the several communicated re-opening dates gave false optimism, it is my view that the wider project team did not sufficiently take into account all of the presenting risks when making these estimates.”

His report, which will be considered by the council’s cabinet on Tuesday, adds that pressure from councillors to provide detailed updates could have ‘sub-consciously’ led to council officers providing ‘false optimism’ in terms of a re-opening date.

The council has now agreed a final cost of the scheme, after contractor Interserve agreed a settlement for its part in the delays, however it says the information is “commercially sensitive” and not available to the public.

Kate Ryan, the council’s strategic director, said: "The Poole Bridge engineering works were unusually complex with a number of factors leading to significant delays.

“We have been involved in lengthy discussions with Interserve around the costs and the final account for the project has been agreed.

“The figure is commercially sensitive and therefore we are not at liberty to disclose the final amount.”