COUNCILLORS have voted against a motion calling on Wiltshire Council to hold an independent inquiry into what went wrong with the disastrous £150m highways contract with Balfour Beatty.

The council confirmed earlier this month that it had come to a mutual agreement with BBLP to end the heavily criticised contract to maintain the county’s roads and streets two years early.

BBLP took on the five-year contract with Wiltshire Council in 2013 and has been heavily criticised about its performance ever since, with towns and villages across the county unhappy with its grass-cutting provision.

Cllr Jon Hubbard and Cllr Jeff Osborn put forward the motion at full council on Tuesday for an independent inquiry into the contract, which will now end in March next year.

“The purpose of this motion is that there are many questions being asked by residents about the truth behind what happened and the true cost of the contract, which has not been able to be seen through to its entirety,” said Cllr Hubbard.

Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport Philip Whitehead said an independent inquiry would be unnecessary as the contract will be considered by scrutiny, before adding that it could cost anywhere between £25-60k.

However, Cllr Osborn, who was part of the scrutiny task group for the BBLP contract, said they spent their time “fire fighting” and analysing certain elements of the company’s work, rather than looking at the overall contract.

“What we need now is a forensic investigation to understand why they did not deliver what we were promised,” said Cllr Osborn. “We know that they failed as otherwise they would still have the contract.”

The council investigated the contract just three months after it was awarded due to the volume of complaints and said it was “performing satisfactorily”, but highlighted areas for improvement.

In March, it was confirmed that Balfour Beatty had subcontracted all the grass cutting work throughout Wiltshire to former highways contractor The Landscape Group, who will continue to do the grounds maintenance and street scene services during a “phased transfer plan”.

The motion was defeated with 27 votes to 55, with two councillors abstaining.