COUNCIL chiefs do not believe the proposed £212.74 million Western Link will go over budget.

In April, the Government confirmed it will put £142.54 million towards the scheme, with the Labour-run council planning to contribute £70.2 million.

But the final business case still needs to be submitted.

The bypass would connect the A56 Chester Road with the A57 Sankey Way in Great Sankey.

Cllr Ryan Bate, the Liberal Democrat candidate in Warrington South, recently labelled it as the ‘ultimate fudge’ and believes it is not ‘deliverable’.

He says he has spoken to engineers and transport experts about the project, adding ‘they say if they were ever going to deliver it for the £212 million, then we would all be living on cloud cuckoo land’.

But the Labour-run council confirmed the budget remains at £212.74 million.

A spokesman added: “At outline business case submission in December 2017, the costings at that time were based on the most accurate information available at that point in the development of the project and included a suitable risk allocation for potential cost increases going forward.

“We are now working on a major scheme business case which will be submitted to Department for Transport in late 2022.

“This will allow ministers to independently consider the scheme including its value for money and affordability before making a final decision on funding that would allow the scheme to be constructed.”