Bosses at Swindon’s Abbey Stadium remain confident their redevelopment plans are on track despite another delay.

A meeting of the borough council’s planning committee scheduled for Tuesday was cancelled. The authority’s public health officer wanted more details from Gaming International on how the new stadium’s design will minimise noise pollution affecting neighbours.

Chief executive of the company Clarke Osbourne said: “We are disappointed and concerned because it has taken a long time even to get to this point, and especially that this new issue has been raised so late in the proceedings.

“But we’re not concerned that this will be a problem, we have the best acoustic consultants in the country working for us, and I know what they have proposed works, and I’m very confident that it will convince the council officers and the committee.

“So this is a disappointing delay but it’s in no way a showstopper.”

Clarke Saunders is acting as the stadium’s consultants. Its latest report suggests speedway meets at the new stadium will actually cause less noise overspill to neighbours than currently, by putting an acoustic wall around the site.

Its report says: “The noise barrier proposed around the redeveloped stadium is to lower the impact of noise levels experienced in the surrounding communities, both new and established, to provide an improvement over the current situation.

Barratt Homes, the developer of the housing estate on the south western corner of the stadium site, has expressed its concerns about the issue, particularly that a change in design has moved the track closer to the houses.

It said: “The present proposed location of the stadium is wholly at odds with what has always been envisaged for the site.”

It added it might be possible for residents to bring court actions “for nuisance" against the operators of the stadium.

“This could have severe consequences for the inability of the stadium to operate in future.”

But not all neighbours are concerned.

Susannah Martin, 44, who lives close to the start area, said: “It is very loud, they start their motorbikes right next to the house.

"You can’t sit outside, you can’t have your windows open when it’s on, which isn’t great in summer.

"Obviously I knew the stadium was there when I bought the house.

“I think it’s right that the council makes sure that as much as possible is done to restrict the noise.”

But Peter Gunter, 68, said: “It’s not a problem at all.

"It’s not very often, it’s just once a fortnight."

"And you can hear it, and you think: ‘What’s that, oh, it’s the speedway’ but we’ve been here three years and it really doesn’t bother me at all.”

Gaynor Tanner said: “It’s only once in a while and to be honest, we’d rather have the stadium right behind us than more houses.

"So I’d be very happy for it to stay there and continue.”