The mayor of Sudbury has expressed her disappointment over a two-month delay in reopening the town's swimming pool, but said it is good news that potential problems can be fixed safely. 

The Kingfisher Leisure Centre pool, in Station Road in Sudbury, has been closed since August 23 and was expected to reopen on December 11. 

However, Babergh District Council, which owns the leisure centre, has now revealed the further work needed to repair a new issue found when surveys were carried out is expected to be finished by mid-February - meaning a two-month delay to reopening.

The gym and Little Kingfishers will remain open while the pool is closed. 

Reacting to the news of the delay, Alison Owen, mayor of Sudbury, said: "This is a huge disappointment. The pool is a really important resource for our community and any delay is bad news.

Alison OwenAlison Owen (Image: Sudbury Town Council) "We all know how important exercise and sport are for people’s wellbeing.

"But health and safety always comes first and it’s good news that the surveyors have spotted a potential problem and it can be fixed safely.

"We now have to hope the additional work can done by the mid-February target that the district council are talking about.

"Any further delay would have a big impact on the lives of local people," she added.

When the news was revealed, Laura Smith, Babergh’s cabinet member for thriving communities, said: “We’re devastated that we’ve had to delay the pool reopening, and we are sorry for the additional disruption.

“We announced a reopening date with full confidence, and it was unexpected when the survey said this additional work was needed.

“While it is deeply frustrating that we now have a delay, it is unavoidable. We want the pool to reopen as soon as possible, but we have to put people’s health and safety first.”

Warren Smyth, chief executive of Abbeycroft, which runs the centre, added: “We’re disappointed we can’t open in December as planned, and we know how frustrating this will continue to be for our pool users.

“I would like to apologise to all our customer for the inconvenience this has caused and would like to thank everyone for their patience and understanding."