Reprieve for closure threat pool

The pool closures sparked protests in St Annes and Kirkham

A Lancashire swimming pool threatened with closure looks set to be kept open, a council has said.

Fylde Borough Council drew criticism in March when it announced plans to close both Kirkham and St Annes pools to save about £1m every year.

But instead of closing Kirkham, the authority is to hand it to a local organisation from March 2009.

The council has warned it will not be subsidised and its success depends on residents using the facilities.

Councillors are to meet on 24 November to decide whether to approve the hand over of Kirkham baths, which will take the loss-making facility off the council books.

'Listened and learned'

It will then be up to the new owner - believed to be a local charitable trust - to make the pool work as a business.

Council leader John Coombes said, if successful, the decision could pave the way for a similar scheme for St Annes swimming pool, which was closed in the summer.

But he warned the pool would be given no subsidy and its success depended on residents making "much more" use of it.

Mr Coombes said: "I have listened, learned and delivered what the community wanted - I hope that the community will now respond en masse and support the pools more than in the past, as this was the only way of securing them for the long term."