SOUTHAMPTON’S housing chief is facing fresh calls to quit over claims he has “wasted millions of pounds” through delays to the city’s estate regeneration plans.

His Conservative opponents claim that by the time work begins on the estate plans building costs will have risen, meaning the city council will need to shell out more than it originally needed to.

However Labour chief Warwick Payne has hit back, saying the Tories’ original plans for Townhill Park needed to be redrawn and saying his opponents would not have started the project any sooner.

As previously reported, Cllr Payne faced calls to quit over his handling of the £100m plans to build 675 new homes, with the Tories labelling it a “shambles”.

The handling of the Millbrook and Maybush regeneration plans, which are at a very early stage, were also questioned at a heated session of the full council yesterday (Weds, July 15), with the Tories accusing Cllr Payne of not putting “a single penny aside” for the project.

Referring to the increase in industry construction costs since 2012, Conservative group leader Jeremy Moulton told Cllr Payne: “You have already wasted millions of pounds of public money.

“We are facing significant extra costs because of these delays, how much in extra costs have resulted from three years of delays? You should go.”

However Cllr Payne told the Daily Echo that more than £20m “has got Millbrook’s name on it already and the prospect of more to come”.

He added: “What the Conservatives are seeking to imply is that they were ready to start work on Townhill Park in 2012, which is nonsense.

“The consultants at Capita, which the Conservatives brought into the council, have taken two years to work up the plans in detail and residents didn’t start leaving Townhill Park until several months after we took office.

“Had the Tories been in charge from 2012 until now and work had started on Townhill Park by this point I would eat my hat.”