East Cambridgeshire District Council splashed out more than £3,000 from the public purse to have its council chamber refurbished, according to new figures.

The authority paid Ely-based company Greg Blunt £3,345 to replace the ageing décor in its chamber back in September.

During the month of September, the council spent £1,472,796.41 on items costing more than £500, which is some 209 per cent more than in September last year when it spent a relatively modest £476,975.40

The figures reveal that £10,000 of taxpayers’ cash was paid to Cambridge-based Carter Jonas to pay for marketing for the proposed Ely leisure village, which has yet to see a single brick laid despite planning permission being in place for almost two years.

£522.60 was paid toThomas Fattorini, Birmingham-based jeweller, sword and trophy maker and insignia maker for ‘civic relations’.

A grant of £2,000 was handed over to Ely City Football Club towards the cost of some new headlines, while £5609.71 was paid to the Oyster Partnership for agency workers.

£55,000 was paid to the St Andrew’s School Swimming Pool Association as part of a grant.

Significantly, there were no payments made to hotels or bed and breakfast venues during the month to pay for accommodation for homeless families, something which has cost the council tens of thousands in the last year.

Elsewhere, more than £650,000 was spent on new refuse collection lorries, albeit using the £5million grant the council was given by the Government to switch to the wheelie bin recycling system.