A decision on the direction of the delayed Penrith New Squares scheme in Cumbria has been put on hold by Eden District Council (EDC) in order to receive further advice.

EDC officials were due to discuss whether to move forward with revised proposals for the project at a special meeting on 12 November. However, the meeting has now been postponed after the council admitted that there were issues still to be resolved. Council leader Keith Phillips said: "Officers approached me when they were aware that not all the advice would be available in time for the meeting and after consulting the other group leaders, I agreed to postpone the meeting

"While we are disappointed with the delay, the council must have all the relevant information to make this important decision and I feel that this is the key factor not the need to meet a deadline we set ourselves." The Penrith New Squares development ran into delays after developer Lowther Manelli was forced to suspend work in October 2008 when the National Australia Bank withdrew funding as a result of the recession.

Revised plans could feature a new Sainsbury's supermarket, a new town square, a landscaped pedestrian link to Princes Street and 32 affordable homes.