A NEW John Lewis at home and Waitrose store being built in Basingstoke may not open next month as planned.

Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council has confirmed that construction work to the 73,000 square foot development at Basing View is “set to continue until late 2015”.

Contractors Bowmer and Kirkland previously said the new multi-million-pound development, which will to include a café and more than 400 car parking spaces, was expected to open in October.

A spokesman for John Lewis confirmed that the store is still “on track to open this autumn”.

An official opening date has not yet been given, but is expected to be confirmed in the next few weeks.

In an update on the construction progress, the borough council said: “The first stage has focused on the ground works to make way for the new building that will house the 47,500 square foot John Lewis at home store as well as a 25,500 square foot Waitrose food store and customer café.

"The other main area of work has been the construction of a new stretch of road to reroute Basing View.

“Once the road is open, attention will switch to the completion of the combined store as well as landscaping and highway and footpath improvements.”

However, there were also delays to the reopening of the busy road, which links Norn Hill and Eastrop Roundabout.

It was initially due to reopen by August 22, having been closed since November to allow for the construction of the development.

But the council confirmed that the reopening had to be delayed because of rain, which prevented surfacing works from being completed.

Kate Dean, the council’s Basing View project manager, had said contractors were “doing their utmost to complete the works before the bank holiday weekend.”

The road eventually reopened on last Tuesday.

Another section of road along Lower Basing View has now been closed until the development is complete.

This closure will allow the building to be cladded and other work safely completed including pedestrian links and highway improvements, as well as new landscaping features.

Access to all businesses on Basing View will be maintained via the new section of road.

All footpaths immediately around the building site also need to be closed, including the Eastrop underpass to the west of Matrix House, until it is safe to reopen them.

The free shuttle bus service is no longer able to serve Lower Basing View, and additional bus stops have been installed along Upper Basing View, which may affect the timetable.

The council said the free shuttle bus passes have been “well used” and have been extended until the end of November.

The council apologised for any “inconvenience and disruption” caused by the works.

The site also suffered a South East Water leak last Tuesday, leaving several Basing View offices without a water supply.

Water was gushing from the site onto the Eastrop Roundabout at lunchtime.