The race meeting that follows Royal Ascot has been switched to an alternative venue to enable contractor Laing O鈥橰ourke to address any problems with construction work at the venue.

The racecourse will temporarily close after opening for Royal Ascot in May, a spokesperson confirmed this week. The course is scheduled to reopen for the King George Stakes, with the meeting in between switched to Lingfield, Surrey, to enable any remaining construction work on Laing O鈥橰ourke鈥檚 拢185m grandstand to be completed.

The news comes as site sources claimed that Laing O鈥橰ourke had missed two milestones on the project.

A senior source said: 鈥淚t鈥檚 missed its last two targets, and it鈥檚 touch and go whether it will meet its deadline. The only way they could do it now is to flood the site with labour.鈥�

An Ascot spokesperson confirmed the temporary closure, but said the project would still be ready to open for Royal Ascot. He said: 鈥淲e always said there would be snagging issues. The project remains on time and on budget.鈥�