THE cost of building a new museum on Southend seafront has ballooned to £49million.

The estimated price tag of the project, which involves building the museum into the seafront cliffs and shoring up the cliffs’ slippage at the same time, was about £35 million.

However, with plans becoming more detailed, consultants hired by the council reached a much higher figure.

Council chiefs believe the cost of the museum building alone is expected to be £33million, with a further £11million going on a three-storey underground car park, plus £5million for fitting out the museum’s interior.

Southend Council is expected to fund some of the cash. The rest is to come from a variety of sources including private funding, the Government, the European Union and donations.

Derek Jarvis, councillor responsible for culture, defended the rise.

He said: “The original estimate was a ball-park figure. Independent cost consultants have now produced their figures for us.

“Now we have reached the stage where a full planning application is being drawn up, we have a much better idea what the museum will look like from top to bottom.

“The important thing is to make the museum the iconic building we hope and plan for.

“In the early stages, it was just the museum we were talking about.

“Now, the car park aspect on the lower floors has become a feature.”

Mr Jarvis said a planning application for the project was expected later this year, but could not specify a date.

Once plans have been drawn up, the council’s development control committee needs to approve it.

Mr Jarvis said plans for the museum design had to be examined alongside details on stabilising the cliffs slippage, which is being looked at now by council’s environment team.

Lib Dem leader Graham Longley said: “It’s a matter of supporting the concept and taking a careful look at how we fund it.

“If it was to go ahead, we would need to be very careful the cost is justifiable and value for money.”

If approved, the project could take between five and ten years to build, with work possibly starting in 2015.

Work to stabilise the cliffs would take place before the museum was built.