MONMOUTHSHIRE County Council's capital budget for 2010/11 has jumped from £16.8million to £29.2 million, mainly caused by more than £8million slippage brought forward from the two previous years.

Also included in that figure is more than £4million of revisions on the original figure to cover development schemes such as the restoration of the Shire Hall in Monmouth (£235,000) and the ICT Shared Resource Centre in Blaenavon (£400,000).

A further £1.4million is for specific grant funded schemes, including £493,000 for the ICT equipment replacement programme, £525,000 for the education strategic review scheme which is partly offset by the removal from the capital programme of £300,000 set aside for Raglan's new school, and £44,000 for the refurbishment of Abergavenny Town Hall..

Among the over spends for the year are £120,000 for furniture and fittings at the Shire Hall, and an estimated £250,000 for the Brewery Yard scheme.

Intense financial negotiations between the contractors, the council and their agents Capita Symonds have been going on to determine the final figure, which is now expected to be nearer £4million than the original figure of just over £3million. There is also an estimated overspend of £70,000 on Regeneration and Replacement Cattle Market budget but this is down to the provision of the new library.

A report is to be presented to the council's cabinet asking for an increase to the budget for 2010/11 and 2011/12 to finance the proposed new library which will eventually be financed from the capital receipt generated from the sale of the Cattle Market site.

Among the projects which have under spent are the Llanfoist Transfer Station, thanks partly to a £30,000 grant, and the maintenance of County Hall where £170,000 less was spent.

On a brighter note, members of the cabinet were told at their meeting last week that the Welsh Assembly has given the council an extra £206,000 for road maintenance because of the bad weather last winter