A replacement Harrow Leisure Centre and skate park will not be built at all, the leader of Harrow Council confirmed last night.

Councillor David Ashton (Conservative) revealed that a s37.2m scheme to demolish and rebuild the sports complex near to Byron Park in Christchurch Avenue, Wealdstone, was being reluctantly completely scrapped.

The Tory administration had hoped to sell part of the leisure centre's existing car park to a housing developer to raise the money needed to fund the project - but the squeeze of the credit crunch meant the land's value has plunged to the point where it would not cover construction costs.

Mr Ashton said: "As anyone watching the headlines knows, we are living through an era of unprecendented financial trouble and Harrow Council, like anyone else, isn't immune to the effects.

"In the case of the leisure centre, it would be wrong to go ahead when cash-strapped developers aren't able to give us the value we believe our land has.

"Therefore we cannot proceed with this project for the foreseeable future."