Aberdeen Council has been accused of secrecy over the soaring cost of repairs to the city's Town House.

The renovation of the A-listed building was planned to be completed late last year at a cost of around £1.2m.

But the work is now not expected to be finished until September and will cost nearly £3.5m, with a total budget of £4.2m.

Councillors were reportedly warned that the cost was expected to rise last year, but the information was not made public.

Labour council finance chief Willie Young claimed the full extent of the work required only became clear after the restoration began.

Mr Young blamed the rising bill on cuts to the city’s maintenance budget by the former SNP-led administration, but SNP group leader Stephen Flynn said the process should have been more transparent.

Mr Flynn said: “I think secrecy is the only way to describe it, the whole process has been shambolic. This is a key project in the city of great historical importance and the lack of information we’ve had is shocking.

“It was my understanding that there would be an overspend but the figures released yesterday were new to me.”

A spokeswoman for Aberdeen City Council said commercially-sensitive negotiations with contractors prevented the local authority from making the full cost of the project public until earlier this month.

Liberal Democrat group leader Ian Yuill said: “If repairs need to be made then they need to be made, but I think we need an explanation from the council to reassure us that the people of Aberdeen are getting value for money.

“The reassurance that councillors will want is that the project has been managed to ensure the costs have been controlled. I’d also like an explanation of why some councillors got this information before others.”

Aberdeen's Town House was built between 1867 and 1873 and is one of the city’s most iconic buildings.

Lord provost George Adam added: “The repairs are being carried out on the Town House to preserve it for the city for another 150 years. The building and its spire are an iconic part of Aberdeen and its skyline, which we hope will remain for generations to come.”