Council bosses say it could be many weeks before a leisure centre's pools reopen.

The Stour Centre in Ashford was relaunched on June 1 following a year-long refurbishment programme.

Despite a host of new facilities and equipment on-site, the opening was marred by the fact the centre's pools remained shut.

At the time, Ashford Borough Council blamed it on unforeseen work identified late in the refurb, which was later revealed to be a tiling problem.

Now KentOnline's sister title, the Kentish Express, understands it’s likely the main pool could reopen soon but the leisure pool will take longer to repair.

A council spokesman said: “Our building contractors and Freedom Leisure are progressing with an extensive programme of work to refurbish the swimming pool areas at the Stour Centre.

"Work has already started and the main pool will be opened first as soon as possible once the work in this area is complete.

"The larger leisure pool including the raging river and learner pool requires more major refurbishment, so this will require a longer closure period.

"Further information on opening dates and public programmes will follow as soon as we can."

The authority is, however, pleased with the reception the upgraded Stour Centre has been met with.

The spokesman added: "Feedback from residents who have visited the Stour Centre since it opened on June 1 has been really positive, with lots of children and families enjoying the new facilities on offer, such as the clip and climb and soft play area and the newly refurbished sport hall.

"The new facilities are all proving very popular and Freedom Leisure has seen an unprecedented number of enquiries for the amazing gym facilities too."

The £7.5m refurbishment programme is one of a number of similar projects aimed at improving Ashford's leisure and sports facilities.

Among the other sites set to be overhauled are the Julie Rose Stadium and Victoria Park.

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