REPAIRS to Otley Civic Centre will cost half as much as building a new one.

The figures were revealed by new Leeds North West MP Greg Mulholland from a feasibility study commissioned by Leeds City Council.

Refurbishment of the dilapidated centre will cost £1.5 million whereas an entirely new building on an unspecified site is estimated at £3.27m.

The study - which has yet to be seen by the town council - also puts the cost of ripping out the outdated interior and replacing it at £1.7m and the building of a new centre at North Parade at just more than £3m.

Councillors and the town's MP have welcomed the report's findings and are promising a full scale public consultation.

But one councillor and member of the Save our Civic Centre pressure group -- although welcoming the report -- has strongly criticised the way Mr Mulholland made it public.

Coun John Eveleigh, leader of the Labour group on the town council, said: "I received a letter from the leader of the city council saying the report would be sent to the town council next week.

"For the costs and everything to be put out this way shows utter disrespect towards the elected representatives."

But Councillor Colin Campbell (Lib Dem, Otley and Yeadon) said the council now had a clear idea of what needed to be done.

"We have given a clear commitment as a town council that we will tell everyone in Otley what needs to be done so everyone understands what is involved."

Coun Campbell said details of the report would be published in the next available issue of Otley Matters - probably towards the end of the summer -- and it was likely that a public meeting would be held.

"Now we know what needs to be done, we need to ask where will we get the money. Even £1.5 million is a lot of to find and I can't see the town council raising that sort of funding.

"It might be that we say to someone like the Save our Civic Centre group that they set themselves up as a trust which would give them access to funding."

Coun Campbell added that he was not favouring any option.

"There are a lot of different permutations and in some ways the cheapest option is not the best in my opinion. I'm not ruling out or ruling in, anything."

Coun Eveleigh and his Labour colleagues have pushed for the centre to be refurbished, while the governing Liberal Democrat members have said a replacement centre would be best for the town.

In addition, a petition organised by Save our Civic Centre was signed by 3,500 people keen to retain the Cross Green building.

Coun Eveleigh said he felt vindicated that the survey had concluded the cheapest option for the centre was for it to be refurbished.

"This is a good day and a good result for the town. We said from the start it should be refurbished," he said.

Coun Eveleigh said the question would now be how the money was going to be raised.

"Now we have got this report there has to be some onus on Leeds City Council to invest in the building.

"The very fact that they have gone to the trouble of getting this report obligates them to do something with the building."

Meanwhile, Mr Mulholland called on the city council to help pay for the refurbishment.

He said: "I believe that the refurbishment is now the best option for Leeds City Council and the best option for Otley.

"Some feared that the cost of bringing the old building up to modern standards would be prohibitive. I am delighted that we have shown that this is not the case."

He added: "This is too much for Otley Town Council to raise on its own. The people of Otley pay their council tax to Leeds. They must not be asked to pay twice."

Mr Mulholland said he was keen to help Otley keep its civic centre and restore it to a state to be proud of.

"It is very unfortunate that the civic centre was allowed to fall into such a state of disrepair after it was saved from closure in 1983.

"The situation where Leeds City Council owns the building but expects the town council to take responsibility for its upkeep has not been satisfactory.

"I am delighted that we are finally making progress on the long-standing issue.

"Once Otley has a civic centre it can be proud of, I hope we can look again at its ownership with the same constructive approach we have seen in recent months from town and city councils."

A spokesman for Leeds City Council said: "This report is now in the public domain.

"We intend to discuss the various options with Otley Town Council and consult with the people of Otley before agreeing how to proceed."