PART of the £8million renovation of York's Art Gallery will not reopen with the rest of it, due to toxic chemical pollution.

The gallery is due to reopen on August 1 following a major revamp, and work has also been done on the gardens surrounding it, the Edible Woodland and Yorkshire Flowers Garden.

However, in an update on the progress at a council meeting, the Learning & Culture Policy and Scrutiny Committee heard part of the gardens would not be ready in time.

A report put before the meeting said: "The Edible Woodland will be complete hopefully by the opening of the gallery on August 1 but the area directly behind the gallery will be delayed until September because of issues with the toxicity of the soil. This has delayed the project and has resulted in an increase in costs."

Dr Janet Barnes CBE, chief executive of York Museums Trust, spoke at the meeting, and said the discovery of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs), in the soil of the gardens meant part of the gardens would not be open on time.

She said: "We discovered toxicity in the soil and we have done testing for lead and asbestos, but the PAH has got us, which we have never heard of at all. So we are having to really to have a rethink as costs a fortune to remove soil into landfill.

"The gardens will not be completely finished but people will be able to walk around woodlands part and will be able to get from the new gardens to the historic museum gardens which was always the point. That will be achieved by the opening. It will only probably be four weeks or five weeks and we can have another opening party. It won't be that long but the timing just wasn't with us."

Dr Barnes said changes to the economy during the tender process had also contributed to delays.

She told the meeting: "We were hoping they would be all beautifully done at the time of opening but between costing the gardens and the actuality of how much landscaping costs the world changed and prices just doubled.

"When we tendered for the art gallery contract we were in a dip within the construction business so we got a very, very good deal and that lulled us into feeling we had enough money but we didn't because it was a year after we tendered for that so we were unable to do one of the gardens we're going to have to put on hold which was the Yorkshire Flower Garden."