THE Great Sankey Neighbourhood Hub is expected to cost Warrington Borough Council an extra £1.8 million following work to clear asbestos from the site.

A report issued to the executive board on Monday said that the ‘original poor construction’ of the former site and delays due to renovation work being halted during school exams had also increased the project’s cost.

The hub is now expected to cost a total of £20.8 million, with the council’s contribution coming to £16.5 million.

Meanwhile, an extra £700,000 has been spent on the Time Square car park following delays and the removal of cladding which did not comply with building regulations.

The work was completed in the wake of the fire at Grenfell Tower, and a total sum of £19.2 million was paid for the car park last November.

Cllr Terry O’Neill, leader of Warrington Borough Council, told the executive board: “We have this massive capital programme that looks very big, but obviously we don’t spend this willy-nilly.

“We actually do a lot of reprofiling and we have a lot of risk assessments to make sure we are doing the right thing in right way.”