IS history about to repeat itself with the planned Western Sector development in High Wycombe?

When former county councillor Martyn Amor heard from the Free Press that the project might cost the taxpayer up to £25million, three words came into his mind - Wycombe Swan Theatre.

The cost of building the Swan and refurbishing the town hall rocketed from an £8million estimate in 1988 to £14million in 1990 when the work was commissioned by Wycombe District Council. The Free Press launched a campaign to make the final cost public knowledge and in 1994 the final bill was revealed as £17million.

Mr Amor, who demanded an inquiry into the Swan saga, fears that the cost of the Western Sector development, at present given as £75million, could also end up 'running away' and hit the taxpayer hard in the pocket.

The council says that when it is finished, the development will be worth £90million.

Mr Amor, who represented the Princes Risborough ward, said: 'The Swan came into the district council's budget originally in the 70s at £4.5million. As was shown, these things can go on and on until the figure which you started with goes out of the window.

'The Western Sector is certainly the sort of project that could run away just like the Swan did. If they (the district council) are being cagey with figures it is because they are not confident they can control their budget over it.'

Deputy district council leader Alex Collingwood (Con, Marlow North) said last week that the council had a cap, or limit, on its financial commitment to the project drawn into its contract with its partners in the development MAB UK.

The Free Press understands from other sources that the cap is £25million in total for the scheme. The money is made up of £17million from the council's capital receipts and £8million in land value.

Wycombe District Council's contract with MAB UK sets out its commitment to buy all the relevant pieces of land to make sure the development goes ahead.

The council will have to compensate supermarket giant Tesco for the loss of its Newlands store in the town which the council is to compulsorily purchase after a High Court battle.

And any compensation bill from Tesco, which could run into millions, may land on the taxpayer's doorstep, according to Cllr Collingwood.

Following the Swan episode, and in the light of revelations about the taxpayers' contribution to the scheme, Mr Amor is calling for a review of the project.

He argues that council taxpayers have a right to know how much they may end up paying for the development - and should be told before the council is fully committed to its contract with MAB UK.

Mr Amor added: 'It really needs investigating straight away. Having made a stupid mistake once, it would be foolish to do the same again. Are the district council and their planning officers capable enough to get the public involved in a £90million scheme that could easily end up doubling?'

Final cost to the taxpayers of the Swan and town hall was not revealed until nearly two years after the theatre opened in 1992.

Wycombe District Council paid Buckinghamshire County Council to design and oversee the 1,000-seat theatre and the refurbished town hall and car park. But work was plagued by delays, blamed to a great extent on inaccurate and late architects' drawings from County Hall.

Later, the district council accepted an out-of-court settlement from the county council and structural and mechanical engineers Building Design Partnership for £900,000 plus costs.

Mr Amor said: 'The final cost to the taxpayer of the Western Sector development may not be found out until years after it's completed. There are always hidden costs to these schemes whether it's problems with architects or having to build new car parks.

'Once the council spends money it gets into a situation where it can't leave it half way through. It could end up being a liability for future ratepayers.

'If you have committed several millions of your money you have to go on with it. That's the problem they got into with the Swan, that's the parallel here.'

If Tesco and the district council cannot agree a figure for compensation the final decision will be taken by a land tribunal, but that could take 18 months.

Cllr Collingwood said work on the scheme could begin before the tribunal's decision but the council would 'have to be sure that the land tribunal would come down in our favour and we would need to ask the developers for a guarantee to cover any excess if it went over our budgetary level'.

Cllr Lesley Clarke (Con, Cressex and Frogmoor) said there was a possibility of work beginning with an 'open cheque book'.

She added: 'I hope it won't come to that. It could depend on the land tribunal's decision on what Tesco is worth, but I hope it would all be finished before any building work begins.'

Commenting on the development, Cllr Clarke said: 'Do we want to stay with something we have got or do we want to go into the year 2000 with something wonderful?'

District council leader Cllr Pam Priestley (Con, Icknield) believed Mr Amor would be proved wrong. She added: 'There are sensitivities in negotiations and we have to be careful in what we reveal at the moment.'

She added: 'Of course we want the public to know and they will be the first to know as soon as we sort things out.'

A Tesco spokesman said: 'Our position is that we are looking for a fair settlement that shows the value of our business bearing in mind it's through no fault of our own our business is going from the town.

'We are not interested in what the council has got to spend on the project. All we are interested in is getting a fair deal at the end of the day. It would not make any difference what the council is planning to spend on the project.'