A NEW bombshell has been dropped on users of the Dolphin swimming pool as the centre’s re-opening date was pushed back yet again.

The latest estimate suggests it will be late November before the doors of the Dolphin, closed by an electrical fire in July, are open once more.

Operators SLM, who run the centre on behalf of Poole council, had already revised the date from a “worst case scenario” September 1 to October.

But the escalating consequences of the fire are now beginning to prove an embarrassment for SLM and the council.

Anthony Rogers, recreation manager for the council, said: “SLM are doing all they can to rectify this and get the centre up and running again as soon as possible.”

Members of the centre have not been charged subscriptions for September and October.

But the continuing uncertainty over the Dolphin’s future could see many take their business elsewhere.

However, Cllr Peter Adams, the council’s leisure portfolio holder, insisted the Dolphin would return and not go the way of Poole Sports Centre, which closed in November 2007 never to reopen.

He said: “There is no question of it shutting. We are extremely concerned about the closure, but it is an unfortunate situation.”

The “catastrophic” problem centres on the bespoke nature of the key panel in the repair, which needs to be designed and built from scratch.

Claire James of SLM said this would take “six to eight weeks”, though it will still need to be “installed and commissioned” after this.

The first part of the panel was installed yesterday and some of the Dolphin’s facilities may be available to the public over the coming weeks.

Poole council pays SLM £400,000 annually to run three leisure centres, but will not be due a refund as the fire and subsequent problems were unforeseen and not down to negligence.