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SHEPWAY RE-THINK ON SPORTS CENTRES' FUNDING

Shepway Council are to look for new ways to ensure the proposed sports centres in Folkestone and Hythe are built.

They say the project needs technical and financial advice of a different nature and will be appointing a specialist in the next few weeks.

Reports that at a meeting this week, PMP, the council's consultants o­n the project, had allegedly been sacked prompted the council's press office to issue the following statement.

"The council's consultants PMP, have completed the latest phase of work.

"The Private Finance Initiative (PFI) sports project has now reached a watershed. Issues surrounding affordability have been well documented and publicised and we are now considering an alternative way to supplement the existing £9.8m PFI credits to ensure that two new sports facilities are built in Folkestone and Hythe.

"As the project cannot be delivered through PFI alone, the council is seeking advice to take the project through the next phase.

"The council needs technical and financial advice of a different nature and will appoint a specialist in the next few weeks. We are also getting free advice from other local councils which are hoping to deliver sports projects in a similar way to us and from a local authority advisory service known as the 4ps."