Plans for a new £500,000 council chamber have been dropped.

The District Auditor - the local government spending watchdog - told South Oxfordshire Ditrict Council there was no justification for the new building at its headquarters at Crowmarsh, near Wallingford.

His decision was accepted by the council's Cabinet without any discussion - to the delight of local Conservatives.

Group leader Cllr Ann Ducker said: "We asked the District Auditor to look at the plans because we could see no reason for another chamber."

Now Mrs Ducker, who heads the council's scrutiny committee, will demand to see details of the planned refurbishment of the present chamber.

The comments by the District Auditor left the Cabinet with a dilemma.

New chief executive David Buckle described the present chamber as dreadful.

He said: "The management team can state that from their personal experience of more than 100 council chambers up and down the country, ours ranks among the worst. The internal decoration is basic, the room cluttered and the furniture and equipment outmoded."

The Cabinet decided to go for the cheapest alternative - to refurbish the existing chamber, although this will have to be ratified by a meeting of the full council.