HOPES to build a multi-million pound community centre on surplus land could be dashed unless community leaders agree to a vital study.

Harwich mayor Dave Rutson has been in talks with officials from Essex County Council, which owns the site, to build a £4 million community centre on land near Mayflower Primary School, in Main Road, Dovercourt.

If fellow Harwich town councillors and county councillors support the project, the community centre could include a new council chamber, conference area, purpose built theatre and an area for charity organisations.

Although Mr Rutson claims the community centre would give the area a much-needed boost and would replace the old community centre in Barrack Lane, some councillors have expressed reservations about the ambitious plans.

Speaking at a Harwich Town Council meeting last week, councillors said they would like more information about the plans before they agreed to a £500 feasibility study to get the project started.

Les Double, a Harwich town, district and county councillor, said: “To build a new community centre for Harwich would cost in the region of at least £3 million to £3½ million to get what we want, and I don’t think Essex County Council will just do a study and then give us the money to build a new community centre.”

“I also don’t think residents living in nearby Shaftesbury Avenue would appreciate having a community centre that could operate from 8am until 2am the next morning,” he added.

Garry Calver, a Harwich town and Tendring district councillor, said: “This could be absolutely fantastic or it could be a nightmare, and to be honest, I would like to know a lot more about it before we agree to put our money into a feasibility study.”

Town and district councillor Dave McLeod said: “We have already got a community centre, so why not improve the one we have got?

“It is a bit of a dream, this one, and we could spend that £500 on something else.”

Mr Rutson said he felt disappointed by the councillors’ reaction.

He said: “I would have thought they would have supported the idea and jumped on board because I think if we don’t do this now, the chances of it even coming up again are not good for the next 50 years.”