A DISAPPOINTED councillor says he feels misled after a mix-up about where jackpot £120,000 funding will be spent in Colchester.

The prize sum comes as part of £18.2 million funding Colchester Council received as part of the Government’s Town Deal fund.

The council pledged to invest in Stanway and Highwoods youth centres, which will receive £170,000 and £120,000 respectively, as well allocating money for The Townhouse, in West Stockwell Street.

The plans were rubber stamped in the council’s budget for the forthcoming year which it revealed last week.

But confusion between Leisure World Highwoods, based in The Gilberd School, Brinkley Lane, and the Highwoods Youth Centre, in Highwoods Approach, has left a councillor feeling upset.

Gazette: Mix-up - Highwoods councillor Gerard Oxford says he was misinformedMix-up - Highwoods councillor Gerard Oxford says he was misinformed

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Gerard Oxford says he feels misled after receiving a phone call from a council official asking him how he would like the money to be invested at what he thought was The Gilberd School.

Delighted, he made suggestions, but the person on the other end of the line was dreaming up a vision for an entirely different spot.

Mr Oxford said: “It turns out what I was told was wrong and the money is actually going to the so-called Highwoods Youth Centre, which is, in fact, a bungalow with nowhere near enough space to satisfy the demands of a youth centre.

“I was not very happy and felt misinformed. I put out a message on social media telling people we had this fantastic money and then had to double back on my words and tell people the information I had was false.”

Mr Oxford, a former Colchester mayor, says the centre, which is used to provide services to small groups, is not fit for purpose as a youth centre and a £120,000 investment would be a waste of money when there is already a service up the road at The Gilberd.

He added: “I wasn’t happy when I heard about this as I acted in good faith that what I was telling residents was correct.

“Somebody’s idea of Leisure World Highwoods and Highwoods Youth Centre obviously got mixed up and I was told the wrong thing.”

A Colchester Council spokesman said: “Colchester Council and Essex County Council officers remain in close contact with Mr Oxford, in regard to the emerging plans for Town Deal youth provision investment in Highwoods.

“We are all keen to see any investment support those who need it the most.”