A BUS company which missed out on a council parkand- ride contract has announced it will not challenge the decision.

Go North East had been considering legal action after Durham County Council decided to hand a five-year deal to run the Durham City park-and-ride service to rivals Arriva. But yesterday, managing director Peter Huntley confirmed the firm would not be pursuing an injunction.

He said: “Although we are confident, on the basis of legal advice given, that the council’s process was defective and should be set aside, the substantial costs to the council tax payers of Durham of our injunction and the legal process that would follow would be substantial, as would our costs.

“The tendering process was demonstrably unfair and the council has recognised its errors in deciding to overhaul its own procedures.

“We can only hope that this action will avoid any repeat of this very unfortunate affair.

“The charge payers of Durham have not been well served in this and have not obtained the best value for their money.

“We do not want to add to this problem by causing them to spend even more money.”

Adrian White, head of transport at Durham County Council, said: “Although the council welcomes the announcement that Go North East is not pursuing any legal challenge, the authority does not accept that the tendering process was defective and, in fact, a thorough investigation by the council’s legal services found that a correct and proper process had been followed.

“The fact that Durham County Council has decided to look into making these necessary procedures even more open to scrutiny is a reflection of our commitment to ensure council tax payers feel confident in how these procedures work.”

Scarlet Band, which has run the park-and-ride since it opened in 2005, was also defeated in the bidding process.

Last night, owner Graeme Torrance said he was still considering his options.

Companies tendering for the contract were scored on price and quality. Arriva achieved the highest mark, although Mr Torrance says Scarlet Band’s bid was £24,000 cheaper.

Arriva is due to take over the park-and-ride in October