LIPHOOK'S controversial Millennium Hall was built at the expense of schools in the village it was claimed this week.

County councillor Michael Cartwright has hit back at claims that Hampshire County Council was to blame for overcrowding in the village infant and junior schools.

He said the county council did ask for cash for classrooms from developer Sainsbury's when the supermarket first announced plans for the massive redevelopment of the former OSU site in the village centre. But he conceded the county's letters may have reached East Hampshire too late for consideration.

The plans included more than 100 houses in the first phase of development and, said Mr Cartwright, HCC had asked for £50,000 towards the cost of a new classroom at the junior school in line with a need outlined in the development brief for the site.

Last week planning control manager Ian Ellis told an East Hampshire District Council planning meeting that district planners tried to obtain some commitment from the county as to what they needed by way of an education contribution, to meet forthcoming pressures on schools when Sainsbury's first approached the council with their plans.

"We never received any advice or request and therefore in the absence of any information, no contribution was sought," said Mr Ellis.

He told members of the planning south committee that overcrowding in Liphook schools was not the fault of district planners or the developers. "It is the education authority which hasn't got its act together in foreseeing the problems which will be caused by the developments," said Mr Ellis.

But this week Mr Cartwright made public a letter from HCC's principal sites officer Ian Lawson, written, in October l998, to EHDC planning officer Helen Chew who was responsible for dealing with the massive Sainsbury's plan at the time.

He outlined his "disappointment" that he was only informed four months after Sainsbury's gained planning permission, that his request for education cash had been rejected.

"You will appreciate that I am disappointed by your response particularly as we were not advised of the decision of your area committee to reject the request for a developer's contribution towards the provision of education facilities as a consequence of the development despite the requirement in the Local Plan and the Development Brief."

But, said Mr Lawson, he had seen a letter from Sainsbury's to the then Liberal Democrat leader of EHDC and former chairman of Bramshott and Liphook Parish Council David Clark, referring to agreement that a voluntary contribution of £20,000 could be made direct to the junior and infant schools.

"I feel there has been some confusion here," said Mr Lawson in l998, "as that agreement related to a voluntary contribution towards school funds which would be treated as revenue and not to any contribution towards capital expenditure."

The £50,000 cash contribution he had asked for was towards the cost of the additional classroom at Liphook Junior School which was intended for completion in September l999.

He told Mrs Chew: "Your committee's refusal of our request for a contribution will mean that this has to be funded from resources that would otherwise be available for desirable improvement projects at other schools."

Mr Cartwright told Bramshott and Liphook parish councillors on Monday night: "Clearly the developer's money went elsewhere and we probably know where it did go."

Later he told The Herald: "One can only draw the conclusion that David Clark, the then Liberal Democrat leader of EHDC and former chairman of Bramshott and Liphook Parish Council, was determined to obtain a new Millennium Hall for Liphook no matter what the cost.

"When the funds were not available to furnish the hall, the parish council persuaded the district council to vire money from another contribution which Sainsbury's had made for the maintenance of open space in Liphook, to provide the fitting-out of the hall."

David Clark is out of the country and was not available for comment as The Herald went to press.