A report to next Tuesday's cabinet meeting advises councillors that services such as electricity, gas, water, sewage and telecommunications need to be installed at a cost of about £6.5 million before the new complex is built on the Nar Ouse Regeneration Area (NORA).

Some of this cost will be met by developer and fellow landowner Morton Assets, but the cabinet will be urged to support spending an additional £2.4 million during the next financial year. If it agrees, the matter will go to full council on Thursday, September 25.

The multi-million pound NORA scheme is intended to create a new Government-designated Millennium Community, with environmentally-friendly housing, a new primary school, shops, community facilities and job opportunities.

But the initial vision has been extended to include the new college complex and, potentially, an Anglia Ruskin University facility within the employment area.

The borough council is expecting total spending of more than £18.5 million on the NORA site between now and 2014. Almost £14 million of this will be spent during 2009-2010 on providing vital services, housing and the building of the school.

The report shows that many of the projected costs will be incurred before the borough council has received income from sales of land and housing on the site. It therefore also asks the council to approve borrowing up to £5.2 million to cover any temporary deficit.

These factors have been included in the council's long-term plan, which assumes a recovery in the housing market by 2010-2011.

Council leader Nick Daubney said: "Forward planning of this sort is absolutely necessary, especially in these times of economic uncertainty.

"The continued investment in NORA by the borough council and its partners illustrates our level of commitment to a scheme which will rejuvenate and regenerate the area."