SLOUGH’S new Arbour Park football Stadium will hit the public purse, opposition councillors fear, as operating costs of thousands of pounds are unlikely to be returned under a new deal.

The Slough Borough Council (SBC) owned stadium, whose main tenant is Slough Town Football Club (STFC), is predicted to produce operating costs of around £113,000 in its first financial year and the authority has put aside £118,000 in the budget.

SBC recently approved a plan for an 18-month financial deal with STFC, which includes rent being set at only £15,000 per year and profits from catering split 50/50 between the club and the council. But the deal has now been called into the Overview and Scrutiny Committee after Conservative members said the council is effectively subsidising STFC – as operating costs are unlikely to be recouped.

The council says the deal is instead estimated to return £68,000 worth of activity benefits to the community - that it would otherwise have to pay for.

Cllr Dexter Smith (Con,Colnbrook with Poyle) said the normal rate to charge STFC would be around the £30,000 rent mark when compared to similar clubs. He said only £14,000 had been raised by the stadium so far when compared to the operating costs of £97,000.

He said: “If the club can’t pay more we should know that. If that is the case we need to be looking at what their business plan is and at what point would they be able to pay us a fair return. If they can’t say that in the immediate future, not only do we (SBC) need to be budgeting for that, we need to be thinking are there other ways that facility should be used and should they (STFC) have principle use of it.”

Cllr Smith’s points were set to be debated last Thursday at a committee meeting including a call for the council to recoup some of the capital cost of the £11.5 million stadium. An SBC spokeswoman said the authority was predicting a £5,000 underspend for what it had budgeted for the costs. She said: “In future years we will be analysing the amount we get in (money) and if the amount goes up, the operating budget will go down. It was built for the community.”

A report to the Committee added: “The council will be absolutely within its right to terminate the agreement should it find itself not receiving the promised return on investment with a value that reduces or removes any subsidy.”