Waiting game continues over new track

The long wait for a decision over whether London is to have a new £100m racecourse at Fairlop Waters in Esssex, hinges on last-minute discussions taking place in Whitehall today.

Some 13 months have elapsed since the public inquiry which followed the Wiggins Group's application to build a floodlit allweather track on 345 acres controlled by Redbridge Borough Council. But light seemed to appear at the end of the tunnel last week when Ilford North MP Linda Perham was told in Parliament that a decision would be issued before August.

Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott had been expected to announce his decision yesterday, but supporters and opposers of the plan were left on tenterhooks as discussions continued beyond last night's deadline.

Wiggins have outlined their desire to "transform the idea of a trip to the races" through an ultramodernfacility with capacity-for 20,000 spectators which will be open to the public for 31 Thursday night meetings every year.

Redbridge Council have always been opposed to the plan, as have local residents groups and the London Wildlife Trust, but Wiggins chief executive Oliver Iny was still hoping for positive news as he awaited a call from the Ministry of State for Housing, Planning and Regeneration.

He said: "I'm afraid the wait goes on for some news and no-one has even given us a hint of what the decision might be.