The Independent Alliance at County Hall have accused the Conservatives of 'financial mis-management' after leader Ben Bradley confirmed the cost of the Gedling Access Road is now £8.6million over budget.

The road was originally meant to have cost £40million. Last month, the Council estimated that this will cost £5.4million more – this has now gone up to £8.6million.

Councillor Lee Waters (Hucknall South) Finance Spokesperson for the Independent Alliance at County Hall said: "The Conservative spending at County Hall is seriously out of control. I criticised this overspend when it was it was £5.4million – now it's worse – far worse. The news comes as the bill for the new, posh offices at Top Wighay have shot up by £1million in just a few months.

"The reality is that in just two weeks, the Council's overspend on just two projects has hit nearly £10million. This will have an impact on services in Hucknall – there's no doubt about that. Whether it's a cut in services, promised highway's improvements or in your Council Tax bill – it's appalling."

Councillor Tom Hollis, Transport and Environment Spokesperson for the Independent Alliance said: "The £8.6million overspend is completely out of control and getting worse. It will have a detrimental impact on all council services – despite repeated attempts to find out the Council have refused to identify where this money is coming from. Is it from the roads budget? The children's budget? The social services budget?

"The Tories who run County Hall have basically undertaken a costly, major infrastructure project without due diligence and with an open cheque book. The contractors have serious questions to answer as do the Conservatives. I've said it before, and I'll say it again – Gedling Access Road is our version of HS2. I will be asking the Council some searching questions about financial mismanagement that will cost us dearly at a time we can ill-afford. It's inconceivable that the pain caused by this decision will have a detrimental impact on every part of this County.

"Residents will be quite rightly asking if they get value for money from an underperforming Council on the brink."