EDUCATION chiefs have had to dig deep into their coffers to finish off the town's newest school which has cost around a third more than expected.

The bill for replacing Pikes Lane School - set to be Britain's first new school of the Millennium - looks set to go up from an £1.5 million estimated in December 1995 to around £2 million.

But the council will not have to fund the full shortfall because £90,000 Single Regeneration Budget money from the 3Ds initiative will be used to pay for community facilities which have pushed up the cost of the project.

Delays in buying the Gibraltar Mills site, which was opposed by the owner and went to public enquiry, are being blamed for some of the increased costs.

But the council say they always thought the school would cost more than the £1.4 to £1.5 million estimated by the government.

A spokesman said: "The basis of the problem is that no one comes to us and asks how much we need - we have to bid for money on a formula basis worked out by the DFEE.

"We are not bidding against a price worked out in advance and often find ourselves in the situation where the capital allocation for a scheme is not enough.

"But you can only get a school for the price people are prepared to build it for."

Long delays in ironing out the legal problems after the scheme was given the go ahead in December 1995 also increased the costs.

The spokesman added: "Gibraltar Mill was on the best site and we had to serve a compulsory purchase order to develop the site.

"It all took a couple of years during which time construction prices went up.

"But we always knew there was never going to be enough money and were cautious about committments to other capital schemes."

The £2 million state-of-the art new Pikes Lane is expected to be Britain's first new school of the Millennium when it opens in January 2000.

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