DARLINGTON councillors have approved plans to spend £750,000 extending and improving a customer centre at the Town Hall, with bosses acknowledging the risk of overspending.

Opened in 2005, the centre provides a first point of contact for customers with queries about a range of services, including housing benefits and parking tickets.

Staff have noted that the centre struggles to cope on very busy days, a trend which has been particularly noticeable in the past 12 to 18 months.

At a meeting of the cabinet on Tuesday (June 6), opposition councillor and current Darlington mayor Charles Johnson asked what had been done to minimise the risk of the project going over budget.

He was referring to a report prepared for members, which said the final costs may not be known until after the tendering stage, after which the release of further funds may be required by the cash-strapped council.

Coun Johnson said: “The report suggests that the cost may exceed the budget, which is not really acceptable in these difficult financial times.

“Has there been some risk assessment done, to ensure we are not faced with some post-contract bill?”

Paul Wildsmith, the council’s finance director, said the authority was "well aware" of the risks involved.

Conservative group leader Heather Scott asked whether funding from the forthcoming office development that will house Department for Education (DfE) jobs, planned for the other side of the Town Hall, could be put towards the customer centre project.

Council leader Bill Dixon expressed concerns over the safety of council staff working in the current customer centre, which is housed in a former rates hall.

He added: “It makes the point in the report that this has not gone out to tender yet and I am sure that, when we go through that process, it could come up with a figure different to that [£750,000], but we could decide whether we wished to spend more money on that scheme.”

He added that the council was "not closing any doors" in terms of the DfE project.

Councillor Stephen Harker, cabinet member for efficiency and resources, said the Government’s changes to the welfare system had resulted in more people coming to the Town Hall to discuss benefits and other related issues.