Three new pools are proposed for Bristol as part of a £43m investment plan to improve swimming facilities in the city over the next ten years.

Bristol City Council has proposed a 25m family leisure pool with flumes, slides and health and fitness facilities for the city centre, a 50m competition pool with a diving tank for both competition and recreational swimmers in the south of the city and a 25m eight lane pool in the north of the city. The council also plans to open four community pools with health and fitness and sports facilities in each corner of the city for local people.

The council has already allocated £7m to the renewal programme and has promised a further £9m, gained from the sale of its shares in Bristol City Airport, to fund the first stage of development. The remainder of the funding will come from the disposal of surplus land.

The strategy follows the council's consultation last autumn into the state of the city's swimming facilities, which showed a large number of potential users going out of borough to use neighbouring pools. The city lacked facilities for competition or pool-based sport, such as water polo. The research identified a need for three large-scale facilities supported by a network of community pools.

Work on the three flagship pools could begin in 2004 subject to feasibility studies and planning.

Details: +44 (0)117 922 2650