Council opposition calls for independent enquiry into William Penn Leisure Centre

Three Rivers District Council, which has refused to say when the work will be completed, admitted costs have risen to more than £6million, with a further £1.45million set aside for a separate contingency fund.

But the opposition Conservative group claims the figure is closer to £8million - more than double the initial budget - with a additional £250,000 earmarked for the budget in the next financial year.

The leisure centre was again the subject of heated debate at a recent Three Rivers District Council meeting, in a private session the press and public were barred from attending.

Councillor David Sansom, leader of the Conservative group, said: "The council is still trying to keep everything secret so I gave them a piece of my mind - I think it is ridiculous.

"We pressed them on a date and at the last full council meeting they said it wasn't too far away, but they still won't give us anything specific.

"It seems remarkable to me that they are taking these decisions and trying to keep so much of it secret - the public has a right to know when the work will be complete.

"We are going to push for an enquiry by an independent party so someone can work out what went wrong, because the planning of the project has been a disaster and the council has fallen flat on its face."

The ruling Liberal Democrat administration says the secrecy is necessary to avoid prejudicing a legal battle with the original contractors, Gee Construction Limited, who were axed a year ago.

Councillor Ann Shaw, leader of council, blasted the Conservative party claims as 'nonsense'.

She said: "If you are involved in legal matters which concern claims for money then you would be very foolish to do that publicly and undermine your case, which the Conservatives fail to understand.

"They want to shout and scream about the project but that would put our financial position at risk.

"We hope the work will could be finished by the end of March but the £250,000 has been put aside as a contingency, and we hope not to use it.

"We have had so many dates given to us and people have become cynical, so we only want to announce a date when we are absolutely sure.

"It became quite clear that more money was needed to finish the project and to claim that back means going through a legal process, forcing work to stop.

"We decided that wasn't the right thing to do - but if the Conservatives had their way, the building would be left as it is."