Leicester City Council in legal action over bus shelters

JC Decaux claims a bus shelter contract has been awarded to another company

An advertising company has made a £2m legal claim against Leicester City Council over bus shelters.

JC Decaux claims a contract to replace and maintain the city's bus shelters has been awarded to another company.

It said the authority has breached procurement regulations by carrying out "unlawful amendments and post-tender negotiations".

However, the council said the claim was untrue and the procurement process has not been completed.

In March, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) reported more than 500 bus shelters in the city could be ripped out and replaced because of a contract change.

The city council said then it was "currently engaged in a procurement process to replace bus shelters which formed part of a previous contract with JC Decaux".

JC Decaux now has submitted a claim to the High Court "to recover in excess of £2m", the LDRS said.

Leicester City Council said no contract has yet been awarded to a company

A council spokesman said: "JC Decaux is challenging the award of a bus shelter contract to another party.

"However this process has not concluded and no contract has yet been awarded. The council is responding to the claim."

Terry Kirby, of Campaign for Better Transport, described the dispute as "mired in confusion".

"As we understand it, 123 bus shelters won't be replaced," he said.

"That means some communities will be left with no bus shelter whatsoever. It's the difference between people using public transport or not."