THE spectacular light display at the centre of Worcester's £500,000 Millennium Quayhead project could be ditched.

Proposals for the £100,000 glass and fibre optics at South Quay have been thrown into doubt after a delay in meeting timetables.

Councillors will hold a crunch meeting on Monday to decide the future of the scheme and could replace the artwork with paving.

Other options include deferring the scheme until next year or continuing as planned.

If members shelve the artwork, they would lose a £98,000 Arts Lottery Fund grant.

Graham Vass, senior engineer for Worcester City Council, said the delay, from the artist and his engineer, was due to the innovative nature of the scheme.

"A lot of this design hasn't really been done before," he said. "It's creating a very innovative design, which makes it all a bit more complicated."

Coun Stephan Inman, chairman of the technical services committee which is overseeing the scheme, said the delay meant tenders could not be invited and work could not be started at the allotted time.

"It's no secret Conservative members have not been enthusiastic about the artwork," he added. "Now it's just a question of whether we go ahead with a fancy design or a more traditional one."

Delays in receiving final details meant work could not start until September, bringing a greater risk of delays due to flooding, which would mean extra costs and more disruption.

Labour leader David Barlow said the delay was "unfortunate" and added that he feared the Tories were more car-orientated than pedestrian friendly.

"Having gone through all that work and effort to get the Lotteries Commission to cough up I think it shows bad faith. It could jeopardise future grants," he said.

Fellow Labour Coun Geoff Williams said the artwork was a "focal point" for the city.

"We should be looking at ways of getting it finished as soon as possible, so it will be a benefit to residents and visitors to the city in this millennium year," he added.