BRITAIN'S leading architect says the National Assembly has mishandled the contract to build the £55 million new debating chamber.

Paul Hyett, who is from Newport, is president of the Royal Institute of British Architects, and told the Argus that delays have added to the cost of the building.

We reported yesterday how since the chamber was first proposed, the amount of taxpayers' money to be spent on it has gone up by £37 million, and the project is now at least four years late.

Almost all the people in Newport we asked about the new cost told us yesterday that they were against going ahead with the project.

Mr Hyett, 51, said: "My view that the Assembly has mishandled this process is well known. The fact that they suspended the project led to greater costs.

"Unfortunately, they associated escalating costs with the architect, which is plainly wrong. "It was a mistake to sack Richard Rogers and hold up the whole process, but now it looks like they have returned to him, which is good news, he is one of the best in his field. "Now it appears they will approve the building it is important to draw a line under the past and get on with it.

"Costs have risen for a number of other reasons. "Since the project was first undertaken we had the terrible events in New York on September 11. That has meant far greater security is necessary for projects like this." Former Assembly finance minister Edwina Hart has consistently denied any mishandling of the scheme.

Yet despite that and the fact that in every previous poll the Argus has run and every time we have gone out on the street to ask locals, the vast majority of people have told us they are against the new building, Mr Hyett still believes that the new chamber should be built.

He said: "I understand that people believe the money could be used for other things, but you have to keep it in context. A community expresses itself through its art, music and its architecture. Wales is becoming a big player in an increasingly federal Europe, and, let's face it, there are few really prestigious buildings in Wales.

"It does sound like a lot of money, but David Beckham has been sold for about half the amount. "If you look at almost every public building that we now cherish, there was outcry before they were built. Just try and think of Sydney without the Opera House. You can't, but there was a lot of opposition to it. The public must be careful not to deprive themselves of great design and landmark buildings, and that is what the debating chamber is."