AN extra £200,000 is to be pumped into a package to upgrade libraries in Pendle and Rossendale amid soaring building costs.

Library users in Colne and Haslingden are set to benefit from improved facilities as part of the Yourspace project, using funding from the Big Lottery Fund.

But the £1,236,000 lottery award has not been enough to meet the new costs of the scheme, after the construction bill rose by more than eight per cent.

County councillors have been warned that failure to find another £200,000 could mean the revamps are scaled back - which would run the risk of the lottery grant having to be handed back in full or in part.

The bill for the extra electrical works alone, needed for the additional computer and lighting required for the upgrades at the Albert Street and Deardengate libraries, has risen by £108,000.

County council officials say part of the reasons for the costs increase has been the delay caused by lottery chiefs while reviewing and approving building applications. Lancaster library is also included in the initiative.

Richard Jones, executive director of adult and community services, said: “This increase can be attributed to the fact that a detailed survey into the condition of the existing services at each of the libraries revealed the need to upgrade the systems in each of the libraries to accommodate the improved lighting and additional equipment which can be installed.

“An element of this cost increase can also be attributed to the increase in construction costs, calculated at 8.36 per cent, which reflects a 20-point rise in the building price index, in the period between March 2007 and the current time.

“The time delay has arisen as a consequence of the Big Lottery Fund’s timetable for reviewing and approving the building applications.”