HOPES of providing new community facilities at Culvercliffe in Minehead could be dashed before they get off the drawing board, West Somerset district councillors will be told on Monday.

Members of the council's cabinet were due to be asked to support ambitious plans to create a £200,000 amenity area at the former municipal tip.

But when they meet on Monday night they will be told by chief executive Tim Howes that the plans could get tangled in Government red tape - at great expense to the council.

The original report due to be considered by the committee outlined the possibilities for "re-profiling" and landscaping the area with the help of local building contractors C J Lynch and Sons.

It could have seen Culvercliffe divided into several zones to allow for a children's play area, a seating and picnic area, a ball games area, an area for walkers, and a dog walking area, plus some car parking.

Mr Howes said the plans had been drawn up after concerns that substantial maintenance would be required at Culvercliffe in the near future, as settlement of the ground had been taking place since the former rubbish tip was filled and capped in 1969.

But he said further information, which cast doubt on the viability of the idea, had since come to light, leaving the authority in a dilemma over the best course of action.

Mr Howes said he had intended to ask councillors to approve, in principle, the idea of encouraging building companies to deposit topsoil at Culvercliffe and to compact it and level the site over the next three to four years.

At present, the firms have to haul soil out of the area to suitable disposal sites, which costs money and adds to heavy vehicle congestion on the roads.

By allowing them to use Culvercliffe, the council would have been reducing costs for the building companies, while creating an amenity area at no charge to themesleves.

But Mr Howes said he would now have to warn councillors of the "difficulties and expense" they could face if Culvercliffe was "caught up in Government red tape and forced to be re-designated by the Environment Agency as a waste disposal site".