TALKS on a £1.9m overspend on a new road project have been delayed so that councillors can have more time to come up with recommendations.

Darlington Borough Council members met last night to discuss the problems with the management of the town's new Eastern Transport Corridor road.

A recent £22,000 consultants' report highlighted a series of errors in the council's handling of the project, which caused the price of the scheme to rocket.

Councillors at last night's resources scrutiny meeting agreed to hold a full hearing about the issue next week.

Conservative Coun Charles Johnson, said: "We have looked at this report and we need to ask a lot of questions that have not been answered.

"We don't think we can do justice to considering this subject in this meeting.

"It takes time and commitment. We need to go right through this and understand exactly what went wrong."

Martin Swainson, the leader of the Liberal Democrat group, said: "This is too big an issue to be dealt with in a two hour meeting.

"We are talking about nearly £2m of tax payers' money."

The committee agreed to hold a task and finish group in private next Friday to discuss the report by consultants EC Harris. The group will then come up with recommendations for the authority's cabinet committee.

News of the road overspend came less than two years after a council plan to pedestrianise Darlington town centre ran over budget by more than £2m.

Chairman Coun Ian Haszeldine said: "If we can wrap it up and come up with recommendations for the cabinet committee then I am prepared to set up a task and finish group.

"I would ask people to remember that it shouldn't be about naming and shaming and finger pointing. It is about getting to the facts."