CHARD'S Cresta Swimming Pool could be decommissioned and demolished early next year unless a community group steps in and meets deadlines to save the pool.

Somerset County Council has met with representatives from a local community group earlier this month to discuss their interest, explaining the steps needed for the transfer of the ownership of the pool.

However now the group has been given just over a fortnight to produce a fully costed business plan which will need to be submitted by September 14.

If approved, the pool ownership could transfer to the community group by mid-December.

The county council decision taken this week will see the pool close at the end of the summer holidays, Monday, September 3 then ‘mothballed’ for three months to allow proposals for a community-solution to running the pool to be developed.

If deadlines are not met and a community solution cannot be found, the council approved the permanent decommissioning of the pool from mid-January, with demolition of the site expected to take place shortly after.

The other leisure facilities on the site will transfer to Holyrood Academy.

Somerset County Council say the pool has outlived its planned lifespan by more than a decade and now needs more than £1m of investment to replace failing equipment and to bring it up to standard.

Facing significant financial pressures, the council says it is not in a position to fund this work, and highlights that regeneration plans for Chard launched recently by South Somerset District Council include a pool as part of leisure facilities.

Councillor David Hall, Somerset County Council’s cabinet member for economic development, planning and community infrastructure, said: “The pool has served the community well for 30 years and outlived its expected lifespan by a decade, but it now needs considerable investment to bring it up to standard.

“With the pressures on our budgets, we simply cannot afford to fund an investment in excess of £1m for a non-statutory service.

"We are very happy to support the community group as best we can and allow some more time for the community to see if it can find a local solution.

"We have provided all the information we can to help, and now look forward to hearing back from them before the end of the month.

“We know this is a difficult time for those who use the pool, but we have to live within our means.

"The reduced funding to local government and the increased demands placed on us mean that councils like Somerset – and councils up and down the country – are having to reassess the services that they can and cannot provide.”