Work on new changing rooms at Chippenham's Stanley Park playing fields should begin in January after a cost cutting exercise brought the project within budget.

Chippenham Town Council had set aside £733,000 to build the changing facilities, referees' room and education room at the Wedmore Farm site but the lowest of four tenders for the work came in at more than £928,000, the highest one topping £1.2 million.

A meeting of the strategy and resources committee last week considered a report on the costs drawn up by consultants Michael Edwards and Associates.

"We were able to bring the price within the original estimate," said town clerk Laurie Brown, after the meeting.

"We have slightly changed the design to have a pitched roof rather than a barrel roof anything curved always costs a lot more money."

Mr Brown said it was possible the town council's council tax precept for 2004/5 might have to increase to fund capital costs of the playing fields but he did not know how much this would be.

"There will be a need for capital to finish off the project that the town council took on. Thereafter it will revert to the level of 2003/04," he said.

Mr Brown blamed the need for a road from Stanley Lane to the new changing rooms for pushing up the costs as the bill for the access road was £300,000.

The town council wanted to create a shorter access road off the A4 but the planning application was rejected on road safety grounds.

Mr Brown suggested the A4 access would have slowed traffic on the road as well as saving money for the council.

Coun Philip Allnatt said the precept for the town council might have to rise by as much as 14 per cent for a year but he was prepared to accept it if the extra money was linked specifically to the playing field project and the town council was committed to reducing the precept again afterwards.

"The project is very popular with the community and we are not getting enough money from elsewhere," he said.

The overall project was supported by the district council with a grant of £490,000 and the town council took out a public works loan of £200,000. The Football Foundation also contributed with a grant of £1 million.