OFFICERS at Teignbridge Council have been told to monitor Teignmouth's Broadmeadow sports ground site for another 12 months.
The recreation area, on a former landfill site, has to be decontaminated and it was hoped work would begin soon.
But John Cocker, the head of engineering services, told the district authority's executive on Monday that Defra had written to the council saying more monitoring of the site was required.
'Hopefully we will have a start next year,' he said.
Deputy leader Cllr Ray Frost said he thought it was all clear six weeks ago, but now it was an on-going saga.
Cllr Don Tracey said it was a 'bombshell' as far as Teignmouth was concerned.
'We are talking about a couple of years without pitches and proper facilities,' he said.
Cllr Sylvia Russell said that if it was going to be delayed another two years the cost was going to go up.
The executive was discussing leasing the Teignmouth and Shaldon Sports Council a potential site on the Broadmeadow Industrial Estate for a nursery.
John Middleton, the head of property and engineering services, said the site was behind the Broadmeadow Sports Centre, but the problem was it had grown both in length and width.
The width had given a particular problem because it was too tight to the football pitch.
Mr Middleton explained that the site was on a basketball court and there were also 15-20 parking spaces.
'Originally it was 800 sq mts and now with parking we are talking about 1,600 sq m,' he said.
Members agreed that the site should be restricted to the original 800 sq m.
Chief executive Howard Davis warned councillors that they had to be careful about speculation.
'The situation at Broadmeadow is that objects were coming through the surface, making it unsafe.
'There is not an issue to the public walking past there at the moment,' he said.