MALVERN'S new sports hall needs an urgent cash injection after tenders came in over budget by £500,000.

Designs for a new sports hall in Priory Road were given the go-ahead in April by Malvern Hills District Council's planning committee and £1.8 million was set aside to pay for the scheme.

The money comes from the Malvern Millions and Malvern Splash operators, SLM, who agreed to contribute £500,000 towards the hall as it will be linked to the swimming pool.

But the lowest tender to be submitted for the building work has come in over budget by £500,000.

Tony Burford, design chief at MHDC, said the Council had not expected the tenders to be so high.

"The architects drew up plans to what people wanted and they did have an outline budget and they showed it was close," he said.

He explained that the high tenders were due to a number of factors.

"There's a lot of work in the construction industry at the moment and market forces have driven up prices.

"Also the design we've chosen is probably a little bit more than we wanted but that's what people asked for," he said.

The next move will be to hold a meeting between the lowest tenderer, the architects Kemp, Muir and Wealleans, Ian Mumford, head of sport development at MHDC, Colin Davis, corporate director at MHDC, and SLM.

"There are savings that can be found within the pricing such as choosing different materials which could make a significant difference," said Mr Burford.

"We could also put more money in because there is still £140,000 left in the sports development pot. Also SLM have indicated that they might put in more money and we could apply to Sport England for a grant," he said.

"A lot of work has gone into this design and changing the building would be a last resort."

A survey carried out in 1995 showed there was a need for a sports centre in Malvern but the scheme was delayed after a Lottery application was turned down.

Plans to build a new sports centre at the Chase were shelved in 1998 after criticism that Dyson Perrins was frozen out of investments and the Council opted instead for the town centre site in Priory Road.

In January this year a public meeting was held to give residents a chance to have their say on the new sports hall, which includes room for four badminton courts, changing rooms and a clubroom.