THE future of Chard's swimming pool has been thrown into doubt after it was revealed that an ambitious funding bid was rejected.

Somerset County Council, owners of Cresta Leisure Centre, submitted a bid to Sport England as it sought to raise funds for urgent repair to the building's roof.

Although the county council own's the building, the leisure centre is managed by 1610, which leases the building from the council.

The repairs would £1million in total.

However, Chard Town Council has been told the bid was rejected and the pool may be forced to close if repairs aren't completed.

They were also told that there could only be one option to keep it open, which would be to hand it over to a private company.

County Councillor Nigel Pearson, who represents Chard North, said at a full council meeting on Monday that “the building has reached the end of its life.”

“The officer for county council has made a couple of offers,” Cllr Pearson told Chard Town Council.

“The first choice is that he is going to look to hand the building over to a company, such as 1610. They will have to pay for refurbishment.”

The pool underwent a £100,000 repair in 2011, and Cresta has recently undergone a survey to establish the cost of much-needed refurbishments to the building.

The £1million the refurbishments would cost are just a fraction of the £3.5million that it would take to build a new pool, Cllr Pearson added.

“If we lose this asset it is going to take a hell of a lot to get something like this back again.

“The other option would be to close it.”

Chard Town Councillor Jason Baker added: “I would like to thank Cllr Pearson for the work he is doing on the pool.

"It is in dire need of some work before we lose it.”

A spokesman for 1610 said the firm would not be commenting on the funding bid until the county council revealed what steps it would take in the near future.

A spokesman from Somerset County Council said: "A Condition survey for the swimming pool at Cresta Lesiure Centre has been produced and shows significant financial investment will be needed as the facility is nearing the end of its functional life.

"In the past Somerset County Council has done repairs as and when required but significant funding is needed now if the pool is to remain in use.

"As a result, we must explore all options for its future.

“Unfortunately, a recent bid to Sport England for the necessary funding was unsuccessful, so a report will be going to an upcoming Cabinet meeting asking for a decision on the pool’s future.

"Possible options that cabinet will discuss include whether the pool can be transferred to another owner as a community asset, while council officers will continue to investigate other revenue avenues available.”