A major housing scheme costing £504million is set to cost millions more.

Power supply at One Horton Heath will now cost £5.1m rather than the expected £1.5m, while up to £26m is forecast for developing serviced land.

Concerns over efficiency and spending on the Eastleigh Borough Council-led project have been raised in a report by Sarah King, deputy chief executive of the council.

The revelations have been blasted by Paul Holmes, MP for Hamble Valley, who branded the scheme as a “vanity project”.

(Image: Supplied) The new report said the entire scheme is on course to be completed by 2035.

But it needs to move faster as the increased borrowing costs and slow income will make the business plan “unviable”.

In her report, Sarah King outlined that the power supply budgeted at £1.5m is now set to cost £5.1m.

“A new, larger capacity cable needs to be laid from Velmore to Bishopstoke”, she said.

“Initially this was to be run over the main railway bridge in Eastleigh but further work has shown that there is no physical capacity for the cable which now needs to be laid over a longer (approximately 11km) route.

“Once the new cable is installed, the additional power for the remaining works can be brought to site.”

The council is facing additional expenditure for the new footpath to Hedge End Station as the discovery of a high-pressure gas main is likely to cause a six-week delay costing £144,000.

READ MORE: Foundation stone laid on One Horton Heath homes scheme

Paul Holmes, who was previously the MP for Eastleigh, said residents are having to burden the cost.

He said: “My constituents are having to pay their share of £600,000,000 of debt to build out this project that simply isn’t deliverable.

“Repeatedly auditors have been concerned about financial practices and management, deliverability and a lack of political management by the Lib Dem administration.

“The government should investigate these audit reports and take appropriate action.”

The development is set to deliver around 2,500 homes once completed.

As previously reported by the Echo, the foundation stone for the development’s first homes were only laid in April this year – eight years since the original plans were approved.

The housing plots have a value of £100,000 each, which is currently lower than the predicted sale value of £117,000, according to the report.

It adds that key people involved in One Horton Heath have since left the project, with other staff members declining senior roles.

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Steven Broomfield, Conservative councillor for Fair Oak and Horton Heath said the scheme is “exceptional” but is being built “on the wrong place by the wrong people”.

He said: “I am dumbfounded at how badly this project is being run.

“I have nothing but respect for the staff working on One Horton Heath, but the hills they have had to climb have proved overwhelming.

“When this is all over, will it actually be profitable? The project has got worse and worse but we cannot afford for it to fail.

“The Greeks had a word for it – hubris. That is why the council is doing this.”

Despite concerns, the Best Value Notice issued on the council in 2023 for having debt “45 times its spending power” was decided to not be renewed earlier this year.

This followed two independent reviews which described the local authority as “well-run”.

Cllr Keith House was approached for a comment.