Hounslow's leisure chief has denied claims the council could have agreed a deal for Heston leisure centre before the project was hit by the housing crash.

The Tory-led administration agreed in principle plans to rebuild the ageing Heston Pool along with scores of new homes at the end of 2006.

But despite nearly two years of talks with Barratt over the finer details, there is still no indication when the builder will submit a formal planning application.

Plummeting house prices, already down more than 10 per cent on this time last year, have fuelled fears the long-awaited scheme may fall by the wayside.

Labour councillor Rajinder Bath accused opposition leaders of missing the boat the Heston & Cranford Area Committee. "Why has your administration spent two and a half years discussing this scheme, allowing the economic situation to interfere with it?" he asked Adrian Lee.

Cllr Lee, executive member for leisure, replied that the delay was down to a mixture of talks with the council's new leisure contractor and the property slump.

"The administration is 100 per cent behind this project, which would be an enormous feather in our cap, and we certainly haven't been dragging our feet," he added. "I believe the developers will go ahead with the scheme but we have to be mindful of the situation in terms of the collapse of the property market.

"However, I understand that's not a huge concern at the moment because Barratt sees the long-term benefits of the scheme and, being involved with a number of other projects across the borough, is keen to keep the goodwill of the community."

The developer has been holding talks with the council's new leisure contractors, John Laing and Fusion, about the layout of the proposed leisure centre and library.

Its architects are now working on changes to the scheme, which are largely internal, according to a report by the council's head of corporate policy Lee Dawson.

He said it was unlikely Barratt would submit a planning application before the end of the year but he remained hopeful that a decision could be reached some time during 2009.