The opening of Farnham’s new £3 million Memorial Hall health and wellbeing centre has been delayed indefinitely, with Waverley Borough Council blaming the setback on the recent spell of bad weather.

Due to the difficulties in procuring the right materials for the refurbishment last year amid price-hikes and soaring demand following the Grenfell Tower fire, some areas of the Memorial Hall’s roofing were incomplete during the adverse weather - primarily where the old and new buildings join.

As a consequence water has penetrated areas of the West Street community hall, causing damp and damage to the internal plaster work.

Waverley, which is responsible for the building’s upkeep, commissioned an independent surveyor to determine the full scale extent of the damage. This highlighted a "considerable" amount of remedial work is required, in addition to the work required to complete the project.

The surveyor has now been tasked with costing the remedial work - and Waverley has confirmed it will seek to recoup the costs.

Jenny Else, portfolio holder for health, wellbeing and culture at Waverley, said: "I cannot express how disappointed and upset I am that the project is not only much further behind than we expected, but also requires a lot of additional work to rectify damage that has been caused by the weather.

"This will also come as a disappointment to the services and the people that will be based in the hall when it is finished.  We have informed them of the situation and will continue to provide them with the support they need during this frustrating time.

"We are now considering how to move forward. Sadly we cannot give a revised estimate about when the hall will be open until our consultant and the contractors have identified what remedial work is required."

Waverley’s appointed contractors, Armfield Construction, began construction of the Memorial Hall’s £3.27m extension in September 2016 and hoped to complete the project a year later in September 2017. However, the opening was pushed back to spring 2018 following difficulties in procuring the right materials for the build, and following two rounds with the Beast from the East has now been delayed indefinitely.

Once completed, the revamped hall - built by Farnham United Breweries in 1921 in memory of its five employees who lost their lives during the First World War and gifted to the town in 1947 - will provide a new home for the Brightwells Gostrey Centre for older people and Waverley Training Services, as well as incorporating its existing uses.

Lucinda Fleming, chairman of the Gostrey Centre trustees, said: "Waverley has kept the trustees up to date with the on-going delays in the completion of the Memorial Hall. We still look forward to moving in the coming months and are as frustrated as the council. Our staff and clients are understandably disappointed that we will have to wait longer than expected."