Row erupts over Baths Hall scheme

The new entertainment venue will retain the original frontage

An attempt to halt a £15m redevelopment of Scunthorpe's Baths Hall amid the current economic downturn has failed.

The 2,000-capacity entertainment venue is due to be completed in October 2010.

An alternative £6m plan proposed by the opposition Conservative group on North Lincolnshire Council was rejected after a heated debate on Wednesday night.

Tory group leader Liz Redfern said she was concerned about the burden on tax payers. "We are talking mega mega money and it has to be paid back," she said.

As well as being almost £10m cheaper, she said the Conservatives' alternative proposal included better parking and catering facilities than the existing scheme.

Council tax payers said they wanted an entertainment centre - we are going to deliver Mark Kirk, leader of North Lincolnshire Council

She said: "It is clear that the venue will not cover its costs as we were assured, there is no parking provision and the on-site catering is comparable with that in a developing nation.

"This site is quite simply unsuitable for this purpose and will result in a first class flop, with honours.

"We intend to genuinely consult the people of North Lincolnshire regarding whether they actually want a new entertainment venue, whether they are prepared to see public money subsidise it and at which location they would wish to see it."

Her said it was still not known how much of the £15m cost would be met by council tax payers and how much would be paid by grants.

Council leader Mark Kirk said the council could not reveal detailed figures from its business plan because they were commercially sensitive.

He dismissed the Conservatives' alternative proposal as "a cheap publicity stunt".

"The Baths Hall will be built," he said.

"Council tax payers said they wanted an entertainment centre - we are going to deliver."

Work is scheduled to start in June 2009. The hall's original 1930s frontage will be kept as part of the new development.

The venue will include a cafe, bar and conference facilities.