COUNCIL bosses have given their approval to a £98m spending plan for new building and infrastructure projects over the next four years.

A plan to create a new coroner’s court, away from its current home at the Bradford and Keighley Magistrates’ Court, was among the projects to get the backing of the council’s Executive.

The £98m also includes extra money to replenish a contingency fund for the renovation of St George’s Hall and further funding to move a market into Darley Street.

Speaking afterwards to the Telegraph & Argus, council leader Susan Hinchcliffe likened the authority’s capital budget to a savings account and said it could not be used to prop up ongoing services.

But she said they aimed to spend money in ways which saved the authority cash in the long run, or even brought in money.

Opposition groups have been highly critical of Labour’s capital spending plans, with both the Tories and the Liberal Democrats accusing the ruling group of funding “pet projects”.