SWIMMERS in a market town face further delays before taking a dip in a proposed new multi-million pound pool.The long awaited £7.7m extension of the Newmarket Leisure Centre, which will include a new state-of-the art swimming pool, has been hit by further delays.

SWIMMERS in a market town face further delays before taking a dip in a proposed new multi-million pound pool.

The long awaited £7.7m extension of the Newmarket Leisure Centre, which will include a new state-of-the art swimming pool, has been hit by further delays.

It means the public face at least two more months using the town's ageing pool in the High Street, which dates back to the 1930s.

A former gasworks site, off Exning Road, which Forest Heath District Council is hoping to purchase to carry out the scheme is the root cause of the delays.

The site is next to the leisure centre and last year its owners carried out three months of work removing contaminated soil and other items.

Forest Heath employed consultants to carry out its on tests on the land and was expecting the results several weeks ago.

The authority has only just received the consultant report, two months behind schedule, which means the extension project is now running behind its predicted timetable.

Forest Heath chief executive David Burnip said: "It does mean further delays and that is regrettable. We now have all the environmental reports and we are currently considering them.

"They are very complex and we want to investigate all potential implications before we express any view."

If the gasworks site is found suitable for use it will provide parking facilities and access routes for the extended leisure centre.

The authority is expecting a £2.5m grant from the Sport England Lottery Fund to towards the cost of the ambitious project.

An alternative site for a new swimming pool, in Hamilton Road, has been earmarked if the planned Exning Road extension does not go ahead.