Budgetary discrepancies in the multi-million Promenade scheme have been revealed.

The issue is highlighted in the latest strategic board meeting minutes to be released.

Minutes from the meeting of December 20 last year noted that Department of Infrastructure chief executive Nick Black ’continued to pursue the issue of the reported budget discrepancies’.

He urged the team to work together to support the priority of ’bringing the budget back on target’.

In a statement, the DoI said: ’During a project of this size it is normal to have budgetary fluctuations, depending on the reporting period, it is a snapshot in time.

’The department will continue to strive to keep the scheme costs within the approved budget.’

The December minutes also note that refill repairs to cracks in the red concrete corridor looking ’less than pleasing’.

In its statement, the DoI said the red concrete cracking has been a widely reported issue which the department is currently awaiting further proposals to resolve from contractors Auldyn Construction.

The costs of resolving this defect will be borne by Auldyn Construction and/or Borough Stewarts Associates, the designer of the rail corridor, the spokesman said.

Meanwhile, it has emerged that curved walls built in the Sefton cultural area were put in the wrong place and had to be taken down again.

The DoI said its quality control procedures identified that the location of these walls ’fell outside of an allowable tolerance’.

It spokesman said: ’Auldyn Construction has removed these walls to allow them to be located correctly. This was notified through the contract as a defect and reconstruction costs will be borne by Auldyn Construction.’

Another issue has been with the granite blocks installed on the crossing by Senna Slip which are having to be taken up and relaid.

The DoI insisted there is no issue with subsidence but ’potential long-term problems with movement’ had been identified. ’As such, the bedding materials have been amended to overcome this issue. This has required some installed blocks to be removed and relaid.’