AN ADDITIONAL £5.6million will be needed to complete the long-awaited construction of a new Stanford-le-Hope station, it has been revealed.

Thurrock Council, alongside a host of other groups including Network Rail and c2c, have been working on the project for a new station and transport interchange to connect bus, rail, cycle, taxi, and pedestrian movement at the station.

It has proved to be a calamitous project with many delays, engineering mistakes and cost overuns and, despite many promises from the ruling Conservative administration to the contrary, to complete it will now cost around £35 million!

To date, approximately £13.4 million has been spent out of the predicted latest budget of £29 million, with the council being the largest financial contributor to this project having allocated £17.2 million.

However, an update to the council's planning, transport and regeneration overview and scrutiny committee, which will meet on Thursday (28 September), warns councillors more cash will need to be found despite the financial difficulties the council has.

The report said: "The remaining budget to deliver the design costs for phase two and the complete build costs for both phases is £15.6m. An internal project team review has concluded that the remaining budget allocation will not be sufficient to deliver the whole scheme outputs and additional funding will be required to complete the scheme in its entirety.

"Officers estimate that the current budget will need to be increased by a further £5.6m to complete the scheme in its entirety."

The project includes Thurrock Council alongside UK Power Networks, South East Local Enterprise Partnership (SELEP), c2c, Network Rail and DP World.

The report adds: "Failure to procure the new station building could result in separate financial claims from both Network Rail and c2c seeking redress."

Stanford West ward Independent councillor Neil Speight said: "For a number of years this project has shown the complete inability of Thurrock Council to manage infrastructure projects - and its capacity to lie to council members and the public.

"Time after time residents were told the project would fit inside a new 'budget envelope', we had a 'cast iron guarantee from one time leader and regeneration portfolio holder Mark Coxshall it would not bust £20 million.

"It has been a total disgrace - a classic and appalling case of mismanagement, lack of diligence, incompetence and arrogance.

"It was a vanity project from the start. Someone came up with the idea of a bus turning circle (which was never needed) and from that simple thought, chaos has ensued.

"At the end of the day the station was functional. It had a ticket office, a coffee kiosk and served its purpose.

"I would suggest now that all the grandiose schemes are abandoned, The main station entrance could be rebuilt for a fraction of the predicted cost, with a kiosk and possibly even some toilets. Abandon the idea of lifts - they aren't necessary. Sell off the former Daybreak Windows land (sadly that's almost bound to be at a loss as it was bought at an inflated, premoum price) and move forwards.

"Drop the stupid dreams and be pragmatic. We, the residents are now having to live in the real world of cuts and punishment for the Conservative council's complete ineptness. It's time to get real, work to give us back at least what we had and move on.

"This council is hitting the poor, the vulnerable and the disadvantaged and the suffering is set to go on for years. Do not pour more millions (even if they can be found) into this project, put that money where it is needed.

"And what really rubs salt into this gaping wound, no one has been sacked or held to account for what is a complete and utter failure of governance. You really couldn't make up a story this bad!"

However, Fraser Massey, Independent councillor for East Tilbury, thinks the council may be 'damned if it does, damned if it doesn't' press ahead and said: "I am really worried about the future of the station, since East Tilbury and Linford have lost the bus service, many more residents will have to travel to Stanford-le-Hope using the station to be able to use the local bus network.

"As the report to the committee states unless a new station building is built both Network Rail and C2C could well make financial claims against the council, this is at the same time the £7.5 million grant from SELEP is going to rely heavily on keeping to tight timescales and a successful business case being submitted. So if we do nothing then it will cost the council anyway."

Cllr Massey added: "It has become a perfect storm with a section 114 notice, increased building costs, multiple planning variations, and delays."