CONTROVERSIAL plans to spend £300,000 on Otley Civic Centre will just scratch the surface, it is feared.

Now, some councillors are calling for the building to be sold off and replaced with a new purpose built centre.

An architect's report, commissioned by the town council, says the building needs to be fully re-wired.

It adds that there are several problems with the roof and that internal repairs would be a waste of money until major work is carried out.

A spokesman for Leeds Leisure Services department said: "Items highlighted in the architects report include:

l The centre has a major problem as a venue because it has no car parking.

l Three sides of the building share an access with commercial properties.

l Roof repairs have been carried out only as a last resort, ie, when a hole has appeared. This is no longer appropriate and if continued could make any internal alterations or decorations a complete waste of money.

l Roof flashing on the Garnett Street front is in urgent need of replacement.

The town council aims to borrow more than £300,00 from the Public Works Loan Board to make alterations to bring the building into line with the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA).

But the work, which requires the building to be made accessible to all, is a fraction of what needs to be done, it is claimed.

Sections of the town council are urging owners, Leeds City Council, to sort out the lease - currently expired - and to act as responsible landowners.

While others believe the centre is a bottomless pit for money and plans should be laid now to build an alternative public building.

Councillor Ray Dunn, chairman of the Civic Centre Comm-ittee, said he was fast losing patience with the city council.

He said despite urging the council to sort out the lease and take some responsibility for the building for the last 18 months, little had been done.

"I've written to the assistant director of public buildings urging him to sort out the lease and to make repairs to the building so we can take over a building that is serviceable."

Coun Dunn claims that the city council, which is now responsible for the exterior of the building, has never looked after the centre.

"When the town council took over the centre from Leeds 18 or 20 years ago, Leeds wanted to close it. I have been saying for 18 months now that the inside was not in a reasonable condition then.

"I believe the city council should pay for the re-wiring at least and for decorating where it has been neglected because of the landlord's neglect."

Some decorating of the large upstairs hall was carried out at the end of last year, but because of the leaky roof, Coun Dunn says any more would be a waste.

The architect's report points to a number of places where rain water has come through the walls and damaged the internal decoration. It also stresses that roof repairs have been carried out only when a hole has appeared and that now, unless major roof work is carried out, any work inside the centre will be a waste of money.

A Leeds City Council leisure services department spokesman said: "We are currently in discussion with Otley Town Council regarding the lease, and the town council's refurbishment plans for Otley Civic Centre."

But, Coun Graham Kirkland said: "At the end of the day it does not matter how much money is spent on the building, the main hall is still upstairs.

"It's my view that we need to be making sure that the civic centre is viable as long as there is no alternative and do whatever is necessary for the DDA, but at the same time we need to be looking for somewhere else to build another centre."

Coun Kirkland said he believed a centre encompassing public rooms, town council offices, a library and one-stop-shop could be built at the Ashfield Works site off Westgate.

"There is a strong feeling that we're throwing good money after bad."

Coun Nigel Francis claimed that even with £300,000 spent on it, there would always be parts of the centre - because of its design - that could never conform to DDA standards. "The civic centre is a badly designed building with two or three different levels.

"It has no car parking and the architect's report virtually says it would be a waste of time and effort to do anything to it.

"I believe we should maintain it for another couple of years and then look for an alternative site.

"The civic centre could be converted into offices or something and we could have a new, single storey building on the Ashfield works site."

But Coun Dunn believed similar difficulties would be faced if the centre was to be sold off for conversion into flats or offices.

"If Leeds were to close it Otley would not have a centre of some sort.

"It's an expensive building to maintain with no wonderful future for it, although it is well used and one of Leeds most well used public buildings," said Coun Dunn.

Under the current agreement the city council is responsible for the outside while the town council is responsible for the inside.