The Mercury reported in Tuesday’s newspaper that the project had missed its deadline of August 31, but at the time the council was unable to comment.

The council has since confirmed the delayed completion date and released this statement:

“Council has been advised by the lead contractor, Landscape Solutions, that [the] date for the contractual completion of The Levee component one will be exceeded.

“Council is currently in negotiations with the contractor on a revised construction program.

“The construction of the project is close to completion and council continues to work with the contractor to see that the remaining work is finished to a very high standard and as quickly as possible.

“Council will continue negotiations on the construction program with the contractor in the coming days to ensure the best result is achieved. No further information will be released whilst negotiations continue.”

It is not yet known if the contract extension will come at a cost to the council and ratepayers, as traders continue to struggle to get shoppers through the door amid the ­construction mess.

“It has been a challenging project for all involved, however council is very committed to working with the contractor to ensure the project is completed to a high quality,” council general manager David Evans said.

The project is already six months behind schedule.