The Greater Manchester council has admitted that the scheme could be jeopardised because of a European Court of Justice ruling relating to a case in
It ruled that “weightings” relating to the selection criteria for developers should be revealed.
The council selected Wilson Bowden Developments as preferred developer last year.
After Wilson Bowden’s selection, rival bidder Sultan Properties alleged the selection procedure was faulty because of a lack of transparency.
The council maintains that the OJEU procedure for public contracts tendering was followed but said that although the high court and European ruling came after its selection decision, it could still be used as evidence in a subsequent legal challenge.
Roger Ellis, chief executive of the council, said: “A drawn-out legal dispute would have led to significant delays to the town-centre redevelopment, as well as substantial costs to the public purse.
“This way we can re-run the process with the minimum delay and with the benefit of knowing the implications of recent case law.”
A re-run of the selection process will now be staged, although it is not known whether the original bidders, which also included Australian group Valad, will bid.
Sultan’s bid was a joint venture with Manchester-based Ask Developments.
The council said the retail development is still scheduled to begin in 2011, following the completion of public realm and transport infrastructure improvements.
The Wilson Bowden plans include 350,000 sq ft of retail, an arts centre, a supermarket and 1,200 parking spaces.
DTZ is advising the council.
