THE opening of Newton Abbot's new flagship library has been delayed for the second time — and now won't open until the summer.

The multimillion-pound redevelopment of the Grade II-listed town centre building suffered another setback because of 'unforeseen structural abnormalities' on the ground floor.

Devon County Councillor Roger Croad said the problems were 'impossible to predict', and decisions had to be made to reduce future structural problems.

The 108-year-old building was originally meant to open in January, following a 12-month programme of redevelopment works.

The date was originally put back to April after contractors uncovered ground-floor stability issues.

Further structural matters means the much-lauded new building will not open until shortly before the summer holidays — 18 months after it closed.

The £2.8million revamp plan is the biggest in the building's history. Work got under way in January last year to transform it into a Devon Centre, only one of two in the county.

It will house a bigger library, adult and community learning space, services for people with learning disabilities and better storage and display areas for the Railway Studies Collection.

There will also be an IT suite, a quiet study area, offices, a ground floor café and meeting rooms.

The authority says the top two floors are almost complete but problems have emerged on the ground floor, the largest part of the redevelopment requiring the most amount of construction work.

In order to make the area more spacious some of the dividing walls had to be removed.

Temporary internal bracing, which involved inserting new, large sections of steel into the building's frame on the top two floors, had to be put in to help support and balance the building, preventing it from twisting.

Difficulties arose because of the age and condition of the building, specifically the stability of the ground on which temporary supports needed to be built.

Cllr Croad said: "We are working closely with the contractor and are confident that the centre will open to the public before the school summer holidays.

"We have been informed by our contractors that there has been some further delay to the works due to continued unforeseen structural abnormalities and issues with the removal of walls on the ground floor, which has involved considerable engineering design to support the building internally.

"These structural problems were impossible to predict and have caused a considerable amount of extra work which has inevitably affected the project's schedule.

"However, it is vital that we make the right decisions to reduce the risk of more severe problems with the structure occurring in the future.

"We have a responsibility to consider the age and historical significance of this landmark building, which is more than 100 years old and Grade II listed, so we are progressing steadily and carefully to make sure the work will last for the long term."

Elsewhere within the building, work has been completed or is nearing completion.

The council say problems were factored into the programme's £2.8million budget, meaning the delay will not result in extra costs but will require extra time.

Built in 1904, the library was just one of 70 major buildings established as the result of bequests by Victorian philanthropist, journalist and MP John Passmore Edwards.

It was renamed the Passmore Edwards Centre in honour of the man who gave it to the town at the turn of the 20th century.