AMBITIOUS plans to create a £6m new speedway stadium in Swindon have been put on hold.

Just last month councillors waved through plans to create the new stadium for Swindon's speedway team at Blunsdon.

But now Government inspectors have temporarily put the stoppers on the project.

They want to see more detail about the application before it can proceed.

David Potter, director of planning and transport strategy at Swindon Council, said the inspectors' decision was not entirely unexpected'.

"The Government office is asking for more time to examine the evidence to ensure policy is being followed," he said.

"This could be the beginning of a long road for this application."

News that the development plans had hit a snag worried fans.

Darcia Gingell, chairwoman of the Robins Pit Crew, Supporters Club, said: "We are obviously very concerned.

"Anything that is going to slow down this process is a worry. If it affects the future of the Robins then we are all affected.

"I am hoping that the Government does decide to go along with the decision made by our council.

"It puts our future into doubt again and who knows how long it would take?

"I do think it would add on a few years to the process and then who knows if the development will go ahead."

Plans for redeveloping the site have been bandied around for years.

It was believed that building a new stadium would be the only way to guarantee the future of Swindon's Robins speedway team, one of the best in the country.

The stumbling block for the stadium scheme is a multi-million pound linked application to build 450 houses on land close to the venue.

The Government inspectors have hauled the plan in for a closer look at two problems.

One of them was linked to worries over the road network aired by the Highways Agency and the other was if by approving the scheme did the council give sufficient weight to objections.

"When the council determined the planning application in February it decided that speedway was important to the borough," said Mr Potter.

"The councillors felt that the cultural and recreational value of speedway outweighed the objections to the scheme.

"What the Government is now doing is reviewing if that decision gave sufficient weight to the objections.

"We as a council never want this to happen. We would hope that the recommendations made by officers in their reports are comprehensive and balance all the arguments.

"We would hope that Government office will conclude that the work done here at Swindon Council was sufficient to determine this application and that the local decision was made properly."

No-one from Gaming International, which owns the stadium, or London developer Thistle, was available for comment.