THE total cost of Aveley's new community hub - which has been heavily criticised for its poor design and the length of time of construction - has been revealed in a Freedom of Information request.

The new building, whose critics in their mildest comments said 'lacks any charm' or 'looks like a prison' cost just short of two million.

And the request shows that Thurrock Council is paying £15 a week to hire 48 concrete blocks which surround the building.

The full cost of the building and kitting it out, including £30,000 in new books, is more than £2,116,022.

Though work is now complete, the library and community hub is currently closed because of coronavirus.

There has been much local criticism of the way the building has been designed, and already the car park is in a poor state of maintenance. A previously effective height barrier has been removed and the concrete blocks brought in as a form of restricting possible access to the adjacent recreation ground - a move which some residents have condemned as a waste of money that creates an ugly environment.

And the building itself was described as 'something out of Prisoner Cell Block H' by one disappointed resident.

The building was designed by ECD Architects, whose other work in Thurrock includes the recently completed award-winning Alma Court social housing development in Grays and, further afield, an attractive new school building in Bromley that also cost around £2 million.

The full breakdown of costs of the new hub is:

Fixtures and fittings - £36,394.17 (This is the Zero Point 8 equipment. All other fixtures and fittings are included in the figure above)

Main hall tables - £6,837.00

Three tables in meeting room - £791.34

New books - Total cost 2019-2020 including large print and books on CD = £30,301.13. A small amount approx. £5 is still arriving, due to delays following COVID and a percentage of stock is continuously replaced with new titles each year