Fears over Brexit have played a part in a delay to the start of work on Swindon’s massive indoor snow centre.

When developer Seven Capital was given permission in November to build the huge centre, which will cost £270 million, it was expected that work would have started in late spring and be underway by now.

But the company says that some difficulties in getting investment funding has meant that start has been pushed back by by six months.

And it is adamant that it’s not getting cold feet about the whole thing.

A spokesman for the company said: “Seven Capital can confirm that despite current uncertainty the project is making good progress.

“We have recently agreed terms on further financing of the wider project which, once documented, anticipated for July, will then enable us to complete detailed design for the construction of the development.

“We are now anticipating the last quarter of this year to be on site to begin the construction phase of this exciting project and are working with our partners and Swindon Borough Council on pushing forwards as quickly as possible.”

While the company was reluctant to blame Brexit, and uncertainty about when and how and under what arrangements the UK would leave the EU, it did admit that it had contributed.

The spokesman added: “It has played a part in uncertainty across many industries, so, in part it has played a part here.”

The company emphasised that full funding has been secured and work will be going ahead.

The development is a central plank of Swindon Borough Council’s regeneration plans for the town centre. But Conservative cabinet member for the town centre, Dale Heenan, said he wasn’t too worried by the delay: “I have every confidence in Seven Capital building the North Star Leisure Complex, they have an excellent track record, planning permissions and all agreements in place, and they have confirmed construction will start later this year.

“No-one should underestimate how difficult getting a project of this scale moving, and the developer has more than £100 million on the line.

“In the last four months, there has been a lot of uncertainty created by Brexit, and Swindon has faced news about Honda and two sets of elections so it is no surprise Seven wish to spend a few extra months preparing for success. I am counting down the days to when groundbreaking takes place and the diggers appear.”

But opposition Labour councillors weren’t quite so sanguine.

Leader of the Labour group and councillor for the North Star area, Jim Grant, said: “It is staggering how confident the Conservative administration have been about the snow centre happening when Seven Capital haven’t even got their finances together yet. The way they spoke about this development you would think it had already happened. I hope I’m wrong but at the moment it has the feel of the previous Moirai situation, where the developer promised the world but nothing happens.

“The council needs to remind Seven Capital of the commitments they have made to take on the site at no expense.

Coun Grant added: “The council also needs to ensure that concerns expressed by Seven Capital about finances, do not lead to the conversation moving onto building residential properties on the site instead of the snow centre.

“If the council had itself built residential properties on this site it could make millions for the taxpayer.”

The group’s spokesman for economic development Jim Robbins, who used to work for a South East England MEP said: “I wouldn’t be surprised if there was another delay to Brexit in October, that there was another delay to the snow centre.

“We welcome the investment, and would like to see it happen, but it was obvious at planning that the Conservatives were ignoring legitimate concerns about the environmental impact put forward by Councillor Jane Milner-Barry and just pushing it through.”

The snow centre is set to feature two indoor ski slopes, an IMAX cinema, shops, restaurants cafes and bars.