Work on the building is due to finish at the end of July

This is the eighth time the ambitious project to open the historic spa waters of Bath to the public for the first time in nearly 25 years has been held up.

It is hoped the builders will move out at the end of July, but there are worries the site may not be ready in time for a special concert by opera star Luciano Pavarotti.

The Spa complex was originally meant to open in early April, but will now miss the start of the city's busy tourist season.

The spa building is still shrouded in scaffolding

A spokesperson for the Spa Project told BBC News Online: "There is no specific reason for this delay.

"It is an accumulation of factors on what is a very complicated project."

Massage jets

Hoteliers in the city say the repeated problems are losing them customers.

And each week the spa remains closed costs the local council �30,000 in wage bills

An NHS spa treatment centre on the site was closed on health grounds in 1978 and since then, attempts to restore the spas have failed because of cost and concerns over the purity of the water's source.

But a joint project between the council and Dutch company Thermae Bath Spa, boosted by a �7.78m grant from the Millennium Commission, got under way in 2000.

It will see a number of historic buildings including the Hot Bath and the Cross Bath refurbished.

The scheme's centrepiece will be a new building on the site of an old swimming baths featuring multi-level pools, treatment and steam rooms, massage jets and rest areas.