Work on £20m pool complex begins

Work on £20m pool complex begins

The new development will tower over the seafront

A £20m project to redevelop the waterfront at the seaside town of Weston-super-Mare begins on Monday.

The resort's open-air Tropicana swimming pool will be transformed into an indoor pool and leisure complex.

There has been a pool on the seafront in Weston since the 1930s.

As late as the 1980s, families thronged to the Tropicana to experience its state-of-the-art wave machine.

When takings began to fall, the decision was taken to close it in the summer of 2000 and it has not been open to the public since.

Developers want to create a new indoor pool on the seafront site, with a complex including a five-screen cinema, health club, cafes, bars, restaurants and an underground car park.

Some people living nearby thought the scheme was too big and tried to fight the development, but North Somerset Council approved the plans.

The complex could be open by next year.