HISTORICAL Olympic-sized swimming pool which has been closed for five years is set to be demolished.
The leisure site cost taxpayers a whopping £400,000 a year to mothball.
AlamyCoventry Sports and Leisure Centre swimming pool is set to be demolished by the end of the year[/caption]
AlamyThe iconic elephant building could be spared if potential buyers are found[/caption]
The Coventry Sports and Leisure Centre, known locally as Cov Baths, first opened in 1966 but shut down during Covid-19 pandemic.
The building has not been in use since 2020 and all efforts to attract potential buyers over the last five years have failed through.
In 2023, the council found an interested party and had hoped to begin work on the facility the following year.
But the firm couldn’t secure the deal due to the high costs of converting the building.
Coventry City Council has now decided to apply for permission to demolish the 50-metre pool.
The demolition could be approved by the end of the year.
Councillor Jim O’Boyle told CoventryLive: “Ultimately the swimming pool is falling down and it would be a heart decision rather than a business decision for someone to take it on.
“I’ve spent many happy hours there and I love the place but I cannot justify the tax payer spending £400,000 each year maintaining an empty building that has no potential future use.
“It is unacceptable and needs to end.”
However, the extension of the building, known as The Elephant because of its unusual shape, could be spared.
Mr Boyle continued: “I am holding off on the Elephant in the hope that someone will take that on.
“I have had a couple of interested parties look around it in the last couple of weeks and I’m waiting for them to come back. We have had leisure companies look at it, paddle court companies look at it and also churches and those involved in the night-time economy look at it.”
Online petition
Local residents have started an online petition in a bid to save the beloved swimming pool.
The petition calling for the leisure centre to re-open has attracted over 700 signatures.
But Mr Boyle replied that the swimming pool has been decommissioned for use over ten years ago.
He also added that the facility is costly to run and hard to get parts for.
The plant room underneath the pool is outdated with pulleys, massive wheels and clocks from the past.
He said: “Signing petitions is easy but running things is difficult. The buildings cost us £400,000 each year in security and the rest of it.
“In an ideal world I would love to keep them open but unless someone comes forward and says they want to take on those liabilities then it is pointless.
“It is nice that people have these ideas but at the end of the day we have to back those ideas up with reality.”
Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
