A TOWN council has approved a budgetary overspend of £4,500 for work at a car park following a asset transfer.

Homs Road car park in Ross-on-Wye has been transferred from Herefordshire Council ownership to Ross Town Council and will no longer be used for parking.

The council want to use half of the car park as a depot base for its maintenance team and the other half will be rented out to The Ross and Monmouth Sea Cadets, which are moving their base from Station Approach.

Town clerk, Sara Robson, said: "The chairman of amenities and I have been looking closely at the budget. When the budget was agreed for this year - 2017/18 we allocated £5,500 for the asset transfer. We haven't spent anything of that at the moment other than £30.

"It looks as if quotations for fencing are in the region of about £10,000. I am waiting for a fencing contractor to come back to me.

"The chairman of amenities and I feel there is going to be a budgetary overspend and would like to ask full council to authorise that to obtain quotations for the fencing."

The money will come from general reserves.

Cllr Chris Bartrum asked if there would be other costs, including updating the toilets.

Ms Robson said: "It is a working progress. We are waiting for the architect to give us an estimate whether it would be more cost effective to have the existing toilet blocked demolished and perhaps build a unit there or have a portable unit.

"I am not asking for authority to spend any money. I am simply asking for authority to increase the budget to get ahead and get quotes."