Judicial Review decision makes huge costs likely for Bedfordshire Council Tax Payers

11.01.14am UTC (GMT +0000) Thu 18th Oct 2007

The cost of Tory-run Bedfordshire County Council's legal challenge to the decision to abolish it will fall on local taxpayers

The Liberal Democrats have slammed the County Council's decision to carry on with its ever more expensive judicial review of the government's decision to abolish it and set up two new "Unitary Councils", one covering Bedford Borough and the other covering Mid and South Bedfordshire.

Costs of £400,000 have been awarded over the failed Judicial Reviews brought against the government by Shrewsbury and Congleton District Councils over unitary decisions. Similar costs can be expected to fall on Bedfordshire Council Tax payers if, as is likely, the County Council's judicial review fails.

Cllr Peter Blaine, Liberal Democrat leader on the County Council said: "The County Council's decision to challenge the government's decision looks increasingly desperate and will throw away huge amounts of council taxpayers' money to no purpose. This demonstrates how right we were to call a special County Council meeting last month to try to stop the Conservative leadership squandering everybody's money. It is a pity the Tory majority failed to see sense".