Work was due to begin this week on Steeton’s £200,000 Community Hub.

Parish council chairman David Mullen said builders would begin fencing off the area before construction work started.

He said: “They’re talking about a maximum 26 weeks’ build.”

The Community Hub will provide facilities for village groups and replace the outdated bowling pavilion on Skipton Road.

The start date was revealed despite recent concerns over the rising costs of the community centre project.

The parish council had attracted £200,000 of funding, then discovered the estimated costs would be significantly higher than anticipated.

The Community Hub steering committee has spent the past few weeks talking with architects and builders about where money could be saved.

Coun Mullen said: “We’ve managed to prune it back to come within our budget.”

Coun Mullen said the team had cut back on plans for a patio and the extent of the interior painting.Savings had also been made on the kitchen plans.

The building is being funded from a variety of sources, including £100,000 from the parish council and a total of £75,000 from environmental bodies WREN and Yorventure. Steeton Youth Group, which uses the existing bowling pavilion, is providing money and Kinetic Landis, from Eastburn, has also given funding.