Borough of Poole has done a U-turn on plans to spend £200,000 refurbishing the civic centre in Poole.

The proposal was approved by cabinet member May Haines last week and then almost immediately withdrawn after a political and public outcry.

The council has just announced it is to shut more public toilets and raise parking charges.

An email sent to councillors on Tuesday by an officer said: "Cllr Mrs Haines recognises the concerns raised at the cost of this business transformation initiative and will be reviewing the matter to see if a similar outcome can be achieved at a reduced cost."

But in a letter to council leader Janet Walton, Liberal Democrat, Cllr Phil Eades, said: "Anyone could have told Mrs Haines that this was an appalling decision taken at absolutely the wrong time.

"The lack of political awareness this displays is breathtaking given your closure of public toilets and the tripling of car park charges just this week alone."

It also showed "the folly of sending almost nothing to scrutiny committees nowadays.

"Perhaps your administration can have a bit of humility and as apologise for this utter shambles and concede that decisions taken behind closed doors with no publicity or debate are rarely good ones."

In a statement, Cllr Haines said: "Around 60,000 Poole residents visit the Civic Centre each year to do business with the council. Unfortunately, our existing facilities do not make it easy for residents to access the important services they need or enable our staff to deliver an efficient service in a customer-friendly environment.

"I have listened to the concerns raised about this essential business transformation initiative and, after further consideration, I have decided to set aside the scheme in its current form.

“I have asked officers to conduct a review of the project budget with a view to bringing forward a revised scheme at a reduced cost to the council while still delivering much-needed improvements to customer access at the Civic Centre.”