Council leaders have vowed to press ahead with the redevelopment of Twickenham Riverside despite new figures showing it will cost the public purse £12.5m more than expected.

The scheme was approved in 2022 after 40 years of uncertainty and will see 45 new homes, shops, cafés, open space and a pub built next to the River Thames.

Richmond Council's finance committee recently approved £45 million for the scheme, which will be off-set by cash made from the project and grants.

Initially, it was estimated that the final net cost to the Council would be £7.5m, however it has now been revised up to £20m based on the current design and inflation.

Council funded studies suggest that, separately, Twickenham will benefit to the tune of £20m over 30 years based on the fact it will boost economic activity.

A Council report on the scheme warned that the redevelopment plan for the eyesore site is effectively a last chance to effectively create a new heart for Twickenham.

It stated: "Significant amounts of money have already been spent on this, and previous schemes, and should this scheme fail it is unlikely that the council will embark on further attempts given the investment to date."

On the cost to the Council, it stated: "The previous scheme viability indicated an estimated investment required by the council in the regeneration to be £7.5 million after the use of grant.

"This was based on estimates which have now been revised... bringing the revised investment required by the council to £20 million."

The Twickenham Riverside Trust, which controls the Diamond Jubilee Gardens, which will have to be moved to a new larger site, is attempting to block the scheme it its current form. It is fighting a council Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) for the site which is due to be the subject of an expensive public inquiry in the summer.

One Trust member, Celia Holman, asked the committee whether the riverside scheme represented the 'best value-for-money'.

She said: "All this increasingly scarce internal council revenue will be diverted to this scheme and there will still be at least a £20 million shortfall."

Separately, the council's one Conservative councillor, Geoffrey Samuel, questioned whether the money expected to be raised through grants and property sales on the site will be as high as predicted.

Lib Dem councillor Robin Brown insisted the local authority is in a strong financial position to cope with any eventualities.

He said the authority is 'in a robust financial position, borrowings have not increased at all under this administration so far compared to the situation we've inherited'.

He added that the 'reserve situation has gone up significantly so the overall council financial position is robust and could certainly cope with any adverse situation on this project'.

Cllr Brown said: "There's always going to be some uncertainty on big projects like this in terms of the revenue generation."

But he added that the plans had been looked at 'quite thoroughly with independent professional advice that has also taken into account the current circumstances of the market'.

Cllr Gareth Roberts, Leader of Richmond Council, said the funding approval 'brings us another step closer to getting the Twickenham Riverside development underway'.

He said: "The new development will bring a lot of value to the local area – we expect it to generate over £20m of measurable local impacts over 30 years.

"Part of this will be direct financial benefits to the Council such as Council Tax and Business Rates income, but it is also the benefits that an increase in people living, working and visiting the area will have for the local economy.

"The Council will be investing £20m in the project, to bring about the benefits of the scheme.

"The next step is the CPO Inquiry in early summer. We very much hope this will be successful so we can finally start construction after all these years of waiting.

"The CPO is a last resort, and the Council would have liked to have avoided it and the costs associated. Our door remains open to the Twickenham Riverside Trust, so we can find a solution that works for all parties."