Taxpayers in Staffordshire are being charged £200,000 to fund the county council’s new website.

The new-look site, which went live yesterday, will, according to council chiefs, cost approximately £50,000 every 12 months over the next four years.

Richard Caddy, a council spokesman, says the new website is being paid for in “four instalments”.

He said: “The cost is purely for the software and the development.”

But the spending on the new site has been criticised by the leader of the council’s opposing Labour group, Derek Davis.

He said: “It could be spent on front-line services, or that sort of money could save two or three people’s jobs.” Councillor Davis added that the old site was “more than adequate”. Ian Parry, the council’s deputy leader and cabinet member for finance and transformation, has defended the new website saying it will improve public access to front-line services.

He said: “From day-one people will find it easier to find the information they need. But the new site has the potential to support new functions that were simply not available before.

“This is welcome news that will deliver far better value-for-money for the taxpayer and greatly improve our customer-focus.”

The council says the old website used software that was first introduced almost a decade ago, adding the new site will be able to host features that were not available then, such as wikis, blogs and online polls.

Councillor Parry said: “It was based on software created 10 years ago that is no longer supported and cannot be developed any further. This is a good investment for Staffordshire tax payers.

“We will be introducing new features to the site in the coming months, with each one adding to the value the site is delivering.

“We are also able to share this technology with partners at no extra cost which could add further value.”

Express & Star readers can view the new site here.