Work should be starting now to restore Ipswich's Broomhill Lido - but there is still no sign of builders moving in.

But that could soon be about to change as a logjam between the organisations dealing with with the project seems to finally have been resolved.

The sticking point has been a delay in granting new planning permission for the project - the former permission lapsed at the end of last year after five years of inactivity.

This required detailed legal agreements between Ipswich Council, the owner of the land and the existing building, Fusion Lifestyle which will carry out the restoration and operate the new lido and leisure centre and Suffolk County Council which is the highway authority and needed undertakings on parking issues.

Delays meant some campaigners feared the project could suffer the same fate as the proposed new Cardinal Medical Practice where delays meant the cost increased and it became unviable.

However the team behind the lido project insist it has only suffered from legal delays - and operator Fusion Lifestyle is hopeful work could still start this year.

It is understood all the legal documents are now in order and Ipswich council should be in a position to grant the planning permission to allow work to start within days.

That could mean builders are on the site by the end of the year.

A spokesman for Suffolk County Council said: “We received the first draft legal agreement on Thursday 24 October and have worked quickly to provide a prompt response, which is now with our legal team and should be circulated to parties imminently.”

Mark Rogers (left) with architect and pool campaigner Alan Wilkinson.  (Image: Paul Geater)

Mark Rogers from Fusion Lifestyle visited Ipswich to show off the plans earlier in the year and said he was not anticipating any problems with the legal documents.

He said: "Once they have been signed we should be able to go ahead with the planning permission and if that is granted we should be able to go ahead once we have the approval of the Heritage Lottery Fund.

"If everything goes ahead we could be ready for the end of November - but we will have to see."

The funding was finally agreed last December and since there has been inflation in the construction industry.

Mr Rogers felt if the legal issues and planning permission were resolved swiftly this should not be a big problem: "We hope to have some good news to tell people very soon," he added.