CONTRACTORS racing to finish a £13.5 million leisure centre cancelled a staff open day at the weekend - and forgot to tell their staff.

The state-of-the-art Triangle Leisure Centre at Burgess Hill is due to be opened by the Queen on Friday.

But bosses of the centre pledged today: "We'll be ready for the royal visitors".

Despite the cancellation several prospective guests arrived for the day and had to be politely refused entry by security guards.

One man who arrived with his family holding a guest invitation said when told the event was off: "We had no idea." A security guard at the centre said that other people had also arrived for the event.

Work on the main building is complete, although it was hit by a major flood last week. But landscaping work is about two weeks behind schedule.

Ateam was busy over the weekend planting and laying turf over a huge mound of earth at the entrance to the complex.

Contractors are working around the clock to finish it before the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh arrive on Friday.

The invitation-only open day on Saturday was cancelled because the site was simply not ready for its guests.

Contractors Miller Construction said today that the cancelled event was not a public one, but confined to staff and their guests.

One of the landscaping staff told the Argus an earth mound in the grounds had been re-shaped three times. He added: "We had hoped to get this landscaping done two weeks ago."

But site owners Mid Sussex Council are confident everything will be shipshape for the visit of the royal couple despite the present untidy appearance of the site.

Today council chiefs distanced themselves from the mix-up.

Mid Sussex Council Press officer Janine Hall said: "It was purely a Millers day and it was their decision to postpone it until after the opening."

She said that the council was making no comment about the performance of Miller in meeting the contract deadlines.

The opening is about six months behind.

It was due to open last autumn, but the delay did enable the council to secure a royal visit.

Gill Lake, general manager of the Triangle, said: "It isn't chaos down there. Obviously the landscaping is the last thing you do.

"They've been working on it all weekend and there has been a huge amount of progress made.

"I'm sure it will look beautiful by the time the Queen gets here."

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.