Cannock dismay with Sport England

The leader of Cannock Chase Council, Neil Stanley, is "disappointed" at the decision by Sport England to reject the council's bid for money to redevelop Cannock Leisure Centre.

The move has put the future of the 34-year-old swimming pool at the Stafford Road site in serious doubt, as the council has estimated it could need £810,000 of maintenance work over the next three years.

Bosses at the council had submitted a bid for £4.2 million of funding. The cash would pay for the demolition and rebuilding of the swimming pool in Cannock as part of a free swimming initiative by the Government.

The free swimming is offered to anyone under 16 and over 60. Although the Government has given the council £150,000 over two years to off-set the cost, the council has still had to find money to pay for it.

The bid to Sport England is the latest decision to go against the council and its hope of redeveloping leisure facilities in the district.

This month, local government minister Hazel Blears threw out plans to sell Cannock stadium for housing which would have led to an estimated £20million being injected into leisure services.

Without the money, there will be no new athletics track, no new swimming pool at the leisure centre, no new Prince of Wales Theatre, and a raft of other projects will also suffer.

Councillor Stanley said: "It is disappointing to receive this decision, given that the council has already committed to offering free swimming for both under-16s and over-60s despite the Government not meeting the entire cost of this initiative.

"It is also disappointing considering the age and state of the current pool at Chase Leisure Centre that Sport England have not considered the council's application a priority."

Sport England received a high level of grant applications from councils with projects totalling £86million.

Although Sport England has rejected the council's bid this year, the funding is split over two years. The agency has added that the council could re-apply in 2010.

An outline planning application for a new swimming pool on the Chase Leisure Centre site has already been submitted.