PLANS to create a community hub in Cricklade have been put on hold after the scheme was found to be £2.5 million over budget.

The proposals are part of Wiltshire Council’s campus scheme which aims to create multi-purpose facilities for members of the community in Cricklade and Melksham.

The Cricklade campus could potentially include an advice point for residents and facilities at the town council offices and leisure centre.

Wiltshire Council is now reviewing the plans in the two towns after it was revealed that Cricklade’s campus is over budget by £2.5 million and Melksham’s is £5 million over, before work has even begun.

At a Cricklade town council meeting last week, councillors said they were furious that their concerns had not been addressed by Wiltshire Council.

Bob Jones, town councillor and Wiltshire councillor for Cricklade, said there had been no response to any of the issues raised in a letter sent to the council.

He said: “They did not answer the questions, they did not answer one question that we put to them. We were fobbed off."

The campus programme is managed by the Shadow Community Operation Board (SCOB), a group of Cricklade residents asked to work on a proposal for the future of service provision in the area.

The group conducted a public consultation on the project before plans were submitted earlier this year.

SCOB member Terri Robertson said that she found it hard to believe that a team of professional architects employed to draw up designs for the project could have miscalculated the budget of the programmes so badly.

She said: “They (Wiltshire Council) are saying that the professionals are completely incompetent and it is well over budget. I do not believe it.

“Why put something out for planning on something that is massively wide of budget?”

She added that she is unsure about the future of the programme because she and other SCOB members have not been able to meet with Wiltshire Council and have only been able to receive updates on the review through SCOB chairman, Ruth Szybiak.

When asked by the Standard what issues it had raised with Wiltshire Council, Cricklade town council declined to comment.

A Wiltshire Council spokesman said: “The review is to ensure that the campus is delivered within the approved budget and that the options for the community continuing to manage the facility are also being looked at.

“The affordability of the full extent of the plans (in Cricklade) will be reviewed to ensure that the facilities delivered are reflective of local community need and are within budget.”