Council leaders have revealed £47m has been spent on a Norfolk road which might never be built - but insist that will not put the authority at risk of bankruptcy.
Conservative leaders at Norfolk County Council still hope the Norwich Western Link will be constructed, despite new guidance from Natural England around safeguarding bats, which has thrown the £274m project into major doubt.
But Andrew Jamieson, the council's deputy leader and cabinet member for finance, said he was confident that, in the "worst case scenario" of the 3.9-mile road not being built, the council would not find itself in severe financial trouble.
However, political opponents do not share his bullishness, in terms of the road going ahead or the impact on the council's finances if it does not.
Mr Jamieson said around £47m had been spent on the project, which would connect the Norwich Northern Distributor Road to the A47 west of Norwich.
That includes fees on designers and engineers, as well as the purchase of land along the proposed route.
But Mr Jamieson said: "The financial risk of the road not being built transferred from the council to the government once the outline business case was approved by the Department for Transport.
"Since the outline business case was approved, the government has refunded us about £25m.
"That does leave £22m outstanding. But I believe that, in the event of the worst-case scenario of an environmental licence not being granted and the road not being built, we will get that money back, given it is the government's own advisory quango trying to block us."
He said, if that money was not refunded, then the outstanding amount would have to be added to the cost pressures faced by County Hall, which recently agreed £42m of cuts and savings.
Mr Jamieson said the council's finances would take an indirect hit if the road is not built, with the authority having long contended it would bring an economic boost to the region.
The guidance which has cast major doubt on the scheme is Natural England's view on whether barbastelle bats have "favourable conservation status" - the minimum threshold at which the species is thriving in England and is expected to continue to thrive.
Barbastelle bats - which live in woodland along the route of the proposed road - are protected by law in the UK and a special licence is needed from Natural England to do anything which might disturb or harm them.
Natural England says there are not enough bats nationally to grant favourable conservation status and states there is "no known mitigation or compensation" for loss of barbastelle roosting habitat in the short to medium term.
County Hall officers, who previously altered the route of the road because of the presence of bats, believe the new guidance means they will not be granted an environmental licence when it comes to the Western Link.
It prompted leader Kay Mason Billig to accuse Natural England of "subverting the will of the people".
Mr Jamieson said the council was not planning to bring in lawyers to challenge Natural England, but hoped pressure, including from Norfolk's MPs, will trigger a review of the guidance and increase the likelihood of a licence being awarded.
Meanwhile, the authority plans to press ahead with submitting plans for the road to its own planning committee. The application for a licence would be made after that.
But Steve Morphew, leader of the Labour group at County Hall, which has opposed the road, said he was not convinced the council would avoid a financial hit if it is not built.
He said: "We need some hard evidence to back up the things which are being said, because this has the potential to put the council's finances on a knife edge.
"We need to see the facts, rather than all the bluster."
Liberal Democrat group leader Brian Watkins said: "The council has been blindsided by this and they can't just blame it on everybody else.
"They need to be mindful of the cost that has gone into this already and I fear they are living on hope, rather than reality."
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