Council agrees £3.5m more for spa

There are fears the final bill could reach £40m

Councillors in Bath have agreed to plough another £3.5m of public money into the city's troubled Spa Project.

The cost of the scheme is already running at £35m and there is still no sign of an opening date.

The problems have included a row over peeling paint in the pools and leaks in the steam room floor.

Bath and North East Somerset (B&NES) council has been severely criticised over the spiralling costs, which are having to be offset by cuts elsewhere.

Abbey ward councillor, Dr Sarah Webb, fears the final bill could reach £40m, more than double the original estimate.

"It's an horrific amount of money, but we can't pull out now, we've poured an enormous amount of effort into this," she said.

"We have to bite the bullet and get this thing finished."

Earlier this week, Unison warned that staff may strike if the council's commitment to the project led to job cuts within the authority.

Councillor Nicole O'Flaherty told the BBC: "We all want the spa to open. It's going to be a fantastic project when it opens and bring over £30m to the local economy every year - but at the moment it is an awful patch."