An extra £405,000 spend on new desktop equipment for Royal Borough staff has been agreed by ruling Conservative councillors - after a delay of a month caused by opposition members' concerns.

New Conservative council leader Andrew Johnson agreed to the delay in September so that the concerns raised could be examined. The proposed £405,000 comes on top of £530,000 already agreed to replace crucial desktop equipment used by staff that had started to fail after seven years.

At last week's full council meeting Cllr Joshua Reynolds again expressed the view that the planned £405,000 could be cut to £259,000.

The issue resolved around whether new monitors and docking stations were necessary as part of the upgrade.

Cllr Reynolds is a 20-year-old rising star in the Lib Dem camp and prospective candidate for Maidenhead at the next General Election. He had warned at the council's September meeting that the proposed spending plans represented 'overkill' by committing to unnecessary 'bells and whistles' when purchasing the new equipment.

Last week Lib Dem leader Cllr Simon Werner warned against the Royal Borough becoming a 'spendthrift council'.

But Cllr Samantha Rayner, the council's deputy leader, insisted new monitors were important to ensure the new system worked as an 'all in one' unit.

Leader Cllr Johnson said: "There are times when spending money can save money."

He said a full range of new equipment would ultimately prove a cost saver by increasing productivity.