Decision on Shrewsbury's Quarry swimming pool delayed

George Candler, Shropshire Council's director of commissioning, told members of the authority's environment and services scrutiny committee the decision is likely to be put back by six weeks.

A decision had been expected in early February. Mr Candler also said that none of the options regarding the location nor the proposed make up of the swimming pool facilities were set in stone.

During the meeting at Shirehall, Councillor Andrew Bannerman, who represents the Quarry ward, questioned the council figures for the costs of rebuilding on the current site – particularly the inclusion of an underground car park he says would be unnecessary and expensive.

He also cast doubt on figures in the council consultation which said 90 per cent of people travel to the pool by car. He said: "This runs completely counter to what is happening at the Quarry at the moment."

Mr Candler said: "If we were to do a new build on the Quarry site there are planning considerations to be borne in mind."

Councillor Hannah Fraser, who represents the Abbey ward, also questioned the potential user figures put forward by the council. She said: "Looking through the report there is a really big expectation that all the gym users at the Quarry would go up to Sundorne. I am not sure that is the case. The competition in town is getting fiercer."

Responding to queries about the pool's potential site Mr Candler said: "We did a fairly detailed analysis starting off with 18 locations, including Frankwell car park, then whittled them down when we went to consultation. Does that mean we won't go back and look at them? No."

Mr Candler also said the council would be looking at whether the plan for a new centre to have two pools would be enough to cater for demand.