CONFUSION has been cast over the future running of Winchester City Council after a Tory councillor quit, wiping out the party’s majority.

Cllr Kim Gottlieb announced he will sit as an independent member after writing to leader Caroline Horrill to resign from the Conservatives.

It follows the party’s lead being cut to just one at May’s elections, as the Lib Dems increased their number of councillors to 22.

The Tories now also have 22, with Cllr Gottlieb as the sole independent.

Ahead of tonight's council meeting, Lib Dem group leader Cllr Lucille Thompson said the party was considering a vote of no confidence in the leadership after Cllr Gottlieb’s “brave step”.

She added that they were in discussions with council officers to establish whether they should now be given more power in committees looking at key decisions.

If a no confidence vote did take place, Cllr Gottlieb, who represents Alresford and the Itchen Valley, said: “I have no confidence in the current administration and will be voting accordingly.”

In his letter he accused the council of a “lack of humanity” and “arrogance”.

He said: “It was an immensely difficult decision to make, but I felt that it was necessary because there seems to be no other way to prompt the change of course that the council urgently needs to take.

“The Bar End Sports Centre and Silver Hill comprise wonderful opportunities for the city and the district but, as things stand, poor strategic thinking and decision-making mean that they will very likely result in great disappointment.

“Unfortunately, it seems that the administration cannot be persuaded to change its position on anything.”

Cllr Gottlieb was the ‘rebel’ councillor whose legal challenge in 2016 scuppered the first Silver Hill scheme.

The announcement follows the approval of the council’s vision for both the Winchester Sports and Leisure Park and Silver Hill 2, officially known as the Central Winchester Regeneration Project.

A planning application has now been submitted by the council to build a £38million sports centre to replace the River Park centre, while councillors will also look at how to implement the regeneration of the city centre.

Cllr Gottlieb also criticised the council’s ‘lack of transparency’. He said: “Change is also needed in the way the council is governed. Promises of transparency and inclusiveness made at the start of your tenure 18 months ago, are unfulfilled.

“At times, it seems that the decision-making process could not be more opaque and exclusive.”

Referring to the Claer Lloyd-Jones report which followed the collapse of the first Silver Hill scheme, he added: “The council has put more effort and taxpayers’ money into shooting the messenger rather than paying heed to the message of its previous unlawful conduct.”

Responding to the news on Monday, Cllr Horrill said: “I am disappointed to have received Cllr Gottlieb’s email and do not recognise the accusations that he has made. The vast majority of people in Winchester simply want the council to get on with regenerating our city and district and we are doing that right now.

“We know this because residents have made their feelings and thoughts known through the biggest consultations the district has ever engaged in for the Central Winchester Regeneration project and the new sport and leisure facility, and during the May election. We have listened intently and we have worked hard to come up with projects that work for everyone. It’s difficult to see what is arrogant about this approach.

“The fact is the Conservative-run city council is on the cusp of great achievements for the district, particularly in its regeneration plans, and we very much want to continue with our and our residents ambition and core values; to make Winchester an even better place to live and work for everyone.”

Asked whether he had formed any deals with the Lib Dems, Cllr Gottlieb said: “I have not made any deal with the Lib Dems. It is just that in my discussions with their leadership, I find more preparedness to listen and to explore, and more sense of a vision for how Winchester can be regenerated. They also seem to be far more in tune with what residents and local sports clubs really want at the proposed new sports centre at Bar End.”