It is nothing short of outrageous that an out-of-court settlement reached between Bradford Council and the Government over the cost to the Council of the Government withdrawing support for a waste management project has been adjudged confidential.

This is money coming from a Government department and going to the Council – both public authorities – and therefore belonging to taxpayers, but staggeringly, we are not allowed to know how much it will be.

The settlement has been reached because the Council, along with its partner in the scheme, Calderdale Council, wanted a Judicial Review of the decision by the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) to withdraw funding for a waste management project in Bowling Back Lane.

The development would have dealt with all domestic waste for both councils for 25 years, providing 300 construction jobs and 80 permanent jobs, and the sudden decision to pull the rug from under the authorities feet cost Bradford millions.

As Coun Andrew Thornton, executive member for environment and sport at Bradford Council, says, the two councils decided to take legal action because they believed DEFRA should be held to account for that decision.

He says the settlement is a ‘good deal’ for taxpayers in Bradford, but unfortunately we will have to take his word for that, at least for the time being.

The Council is now having to start the process again and look at an alternative long-term solution for waste disposal, and this money presumably will now go towards that.

We would appeal to DEFRA to show some common sense and accept that taxpayers in Bradford have a right to know the true extent of the settlement, and remove this unnecessary gagging clause.