Alton Town Council has agreed to spend more than £44,000 on stage one of its King’s Pond project.

At a full council meeting in the town hall on May 6, members voted to hand a contract to Five Rivers - one of two companies which tendered for the job - to do the work at a cost of up to £44,041.37.

Stage one involves considering two options for the pond - dredging and improving it, or separating it from the River Wey - by developing preliminary designs and costings for each to a stage where they can be put before a public consultation.

The money for stage one will come from the town council’s reserve for the project, which currently stands at £206,526.

Cllr John Quincey expressed concern, saying: “We must resolve the condition of the dam, as it affects both proposals.” He asked to defer consideration of Cllr Don Hammond’s motion to commence stage one.

Cllr Hammond said: “It’s quite easy to be alarmist about the dam. The dam is sitting there quite happily at the moment.” Cllr Quincey replied that Cllr Hammond was “not qualified” to say that.

Calling the River Wey through Alton a “severely degraded” chalk stream, Cllr Quincey also criticised the relatively straight path of the proposed separated river, an option forced on the council by flow rate and land ownership issues.

He said: “One of the characteristics of a chalk stream is the ecological benefits of the meanders, and you don’t get that with this canal. You won’t get fish going up it.

“With the unknown of the dam, why risk wasting money? What we’re doing was done in haste in December. We missed a trick here and this is our last chance to put it right.”

Cllr Matthew Kellermann told Cllr Hammond: “You are ploughing ahead with stage one again and discounting anything that gets in its way. A consultation is non-binding and can be ignored.”

Conceding there could be a “possible issue” with the dam, Cllr Hammond said: “So it’s good to get on with stage one, so misunderstanding, conjecture and opinion can be converted into fact as soon as possible.”

Cllr Barbara Tansey said: “People will always be cautious. At some stage you have to go ahead, get the facts, bite the bullet and find out what’s happening.”

But Cllr Kellermann replied: “The bullet is being bitten at the taxpayer’s expense. Just going ahead with it is disrespectful to the taxpayer and wholly irresponsible.”

Cllr Quincey told Cllr Hammond: “It’s the people of Alton’s risk, it’s their money. Your argument is based on supposition because you’re assuming the dam is ok.”

His motion to defer was denied by eight votes to two, with himself and Cllr Kellermann in favour.

Cllr Hammond’s amendment to ‘carry out’ rather than ‘commence’ stage one was carried by eight votes to nil, with councillors Quincey and Kellermann abstaining.

The substantive motion, for Five Rivers to carry out stage one, was carried by eight votes to one, with Cllr Kellermann against and Cllr Quincey abstaining.