THE cost of a council building a prayer shelter at a municipal graveyard has rocketed by almost 50 per cent.

When the scheme at Blackburn's Pleasington Cemetery was granted in February despite 33 objections it was priced at £325,000.

Now the contract is being advertised for tenders by Blackburn with Darwen Council at £450,000.

Cllr John Slater, leader of the authority's Conservative group, said: "Is this deception or is this incompetence?"

But the borough's boss Cllr Phil Riley has blamed the dramatic increase on inflation.

The single-storey replacement prayer shelter is being built to serve a new Islamic burial ground at the cemetery but generated a host of objections from nearby residents over parking and traffic.

The rise was raised by Ewood Tory councillor Jon Baldwin at the council's audit committee along with a rise in the price of a new roof at Mill Hill Community Centre.

This was originally priced at £60,000, then increased to £92,000 and will now cost £115,000.

Cllr Slater said: "I am shocked at these price increases.

"Is this deception or incompetence?

"We all know about inflation and the cost of living crisis but even for building work the rise in costs is not running at between 50 and 100 percent.

"I am concerned that the council is losing control of its expenditure.

"This could have serious consequences for Blackburn with Darwen Council's finances and the council tax paid by the borough's residents."

Cllr Riley said: “As most people know, the cost of living crisis is unfortunately affecting every area of our lives at the moment including areas like this where building work needs to be done.

“Since establishing the budgets for these two schemes, we have seen huge and unprecedented price rises in construction materials, labour, fuel and general costs.

“The financial information in these adverts are the estimated costs for the work required and we would hope that contractors price up the works at a lower amount than the estimates via the competitive process.

“As a progressive council we want to continue with the growth developments that are changing the face of the town but the rising prices mean that these will have to be very carefully managed.”

Livesey with Pleasington Tory councillor Mark Russell who discovered the cost overruns said: "I'm concerned that budgetary mission-creep may happen with this project so we'll be keeping a close eye on it. The prayer room is in the wrong place with inadequate parking provision to begin with. If costs escalate beyond the approved budget I want to see the project go back to the drawing board."

Cllr Baldwin said: "These are huge increases. I raised them because I am concerned about their impact on the council's finances."