Shrewsbury pool campaigners welcome fresh review

Bernard Wills of the Quarry Swimming and Fitness Forum, a group which has been fighting to keep the pool where it is, said the unexpected move was "very good news" and meant town centre sites would now be given a fair hearing.

Shropshire Council bosses are expected to call an immediate halt to the current process to work out what will become of the Quarry Swimming and Fitness Centre – and future swimming provision in the town – as a report will go before the authority's ruling cabinet next week suggesting alternative town centre sites are looked at again as a matter of priority.

Lezley Picton, Shropshire Council's cabinet member for culture and leisure, said the move had come about through a combination of a swell of public opinion and a new administration at Shropshire Council, following May's elections, that wanted to return to the issue started by their predecessors.

Today Mr Wills said: "This is very good news. It is very positive from our point of view. I'm sure many people will be happy about it, the clubs and the public."

"It needs to be correctly looked at with all the options considered and assessed because that hasn't been the case so far – it hasn't been transparent and it needs to be re-evaluated so I can only congratulate the new administration on doing so. "Once something is recommended, unless something drastic happens, it's usually going to be followed through. But it's too big a decision for the future of Shrewsbury just to be rubber stamped on officers' recommendations."

The move follows a pledge by Councillor Peter Nutting, who took over as leader of Shropshire Council in May, to re-examine town centre sites.

"Now with Councillor Nutting asking for this to take place, it will be looked at properly," Mr Wills said.

"And the town centre is where the pool should be."

Last year Shropshire Council agreed that it wanted to close the pool at the Quarry and build a replacement at Shrewsbury Sports Village in Sundorne.

However, following criticism of the plans, the authority gave other groups 12 months to come up with a plan to keep the pool in the town centre, though Quarry Swimming and Fitness Forum opted out of the process earlier this year.

Councillor Picton said it was important to call a halt to the current process as she did not want interested parties currently looking at getting together a business case to be wasting time and money if the goalposts were going to change following the council review.

Such bids would be put on hold until the review, if it goes ahead, is completed, she said.