Lottery chiefs agreed to inject £3.1 million into a new borough leisure centre last week, but could have jeopardised the project by delaying their decision by a month.

Sport England's ruling body decided to fund the bulk of the almost £5 million facility at its monthly meeting last Monday. Sutton Arena in Middleton Road will also serve as a training centre for elite athletes.

But according to Sutton Council, which made the application, by not backing the proposals in October, as originally intended, Sport England has unwittingly added more than £100,000 to its costs.

That is because the council's tendering process expired in the meantime and its chosen contractor has indicated its new bid would have to take account of increased costs.

And this could mean returning to Sport England with a begging bowl to fund the difference.

A Sport England spokesman said the delay was down to the number of schemes deemed high quality under consideration over the past couple of months.

He said: "It was a matter of how much funding was available at that time it's not a bottomless pit.

"Sutton Council will have to negotiate with the contractor to see if it can make up the difference, but there is nothing to stop it putting in a further application to the panel."

On the scheme itself, he added: "It has managed to demonstrate a dual use that there will be provision for community use and it will be seen as a really good training facility for top athletes.

"Sutton Arena is seen as one of UK athletics' premiere sites in London."

Council chiefs have insisted the project can only get off the ground when the cost increase is negotiated, and plans to start work in January 2002 have been dropped.

But according to strategy committee sports management spokesman Councillor Leslie Coman: "The news we have secured just over £3m towards a new sports facility in the borough is good news all round.

"The development of the arena is part of our ambition to make Sutton a centre of sporting excellence and to provide a wide range of activities that all can enjoy."

The bulk of the rest of the funding will come from council capital receipts, Single Regeneration Budget (SRB) money for the borough's poorer northern wards and Section 106 agreements, in which developers provide funds for social infrastructure in exchange for gaining planning permission.

And the management of the new centre could be in the hands of Sutton Community Leisure (SCL), the not-for-profit body which currently runs the council leisure centres in Cheam and Carshalton.

Sport England has urged the council to let a non-profit making body take charge of the complex, and officers have been instructed to prepare a report for the strategy committee on management options.

November 16, 2001 11:02