AN INDEPENDENT report into the Silver Hill scheme is set to be published next week after months of delays.

Solicitor Claer Lloyd-Jones has been investigating Winchester City Council's unlawful handling of the regeneration for nearly a year.

Her £200,000 report, originally promised by June, will look at whether civic chiefs properly sought and interpreted legal advice when it approved controversial changes to the scheme in 2014.

The council was rebuked by a High Court judge last February for twice amending the contract without inviting bids from other developers.

Chief executive Simon Eden said the report would be made public on Monday or Tuesday.

"I'm not expecting anything to be redacted," he told the Chronicle.

The Lloyd-Jones report will also look at whether expert advice was made clear to councillors and taken into account when decisions were taken.

Key moments to be reviewed include the High Court battle in January 2015, a 2012 inquiry into a compulsory purchase order on the land and any changes which were made to the core development agreement, originally signed in 2004.

Ms Lloyd-Jones is not expected to comment on what should be done with the scheme, but could recommend changes to the council's structure or decision-making process.

She will present the report to the council's audit and overview and scrutiny committees before leaders decide what action to take.