PLANS for a customer contact centre have moved a stage closer after a leading IT services company signed a £2.8 million contract with Dorset County Council.

Steria now has the green light to set up and manage the £5 million centre - Dorset Direct.

But Councillor Richard Biggs, leader of the council's Liberal Democrat group, said he feared the cost of the project was rising before it had even opened.

The centre will give the public a direct line to the council so that inquiries can be dealt with at a first point of contact.

The project ran into criticism when it was announced last year at a time when the council was exploring ways to cut costs to stave off a funding gap of £20 million in the next three years.

Closure of 13 public libraries across the county to save £847,000 over three years was one suggestion - a measure that was postponed while full consultations were undertaken.

A county council spokesman said last year that the centre would be based in a county council building in Dorchester. It would involve re-deploying 90 staff to cover an extended working day.

She said then that the centre would simplify the way people dealt with the council and enable skilled staff to help the public more efficiently.

The result would be savings with the project due to break even in its sixth year and bring in savings of £1.7 million or more a year after that.

Coun Biggs said: "We don't have a problem with the idea of a centre like this. It is a more modern way of doing things and other authorities have centres like this.

"My concern is the escalating cost. It seems that the original cost of £5 million is going up because they keep finding they need to do more to make it more robust. The plan is to save money."

He said the Liberal Democrats supported the principle of having a customer contact centre but were concerned about the cost of setting it up.

He said: "People are asking 'where are they finding the money for it?' when the council is struggling to find money for libraries and home care for the elderly and so on.

"We think it needs to be done and support it, but we do have reservations."

A spokesman for Steria said the contract was a three-and-a-half year deal. She said: "The centre will give the public a direct line to the council, allowing inquires to be resolved at the first point of contact. Last year the council handled almost 800,000 telephone inquiries from customers."

Elaine Taylor, the council's director for corporate resources, said: "Steria has a broad experience of working with organisations across the public and commercial sector."