NEARLY £50,000 of public money has been spent on maintaining a swimming pool which hasn’t been used in 18 months.

Somerset County Council closed the Cresta Leisure Centre in Chard in September 2018, stating that it could no longer afford to maintain the facility.

The pool on Zembard Lane – which was operated by 1610 Leisure – was originally going to be demolished after its decommissioning.

But the council is now keen on incorporating the facility in the adjacent Holyrood Academy – and has spent nearly £50,000 to date on keeping the pool building in one piece as talks with the school progress.

The council is working on plans to extend the existing Holyrood campus as part of its capital programme, which includes £46m for new, extended or replacement schools over the next 12 months.

An SCC spokeswoman said: “We would like to see the Cresta pool site incorporated into the Holyrood Academy campus.

“Demolition or alteration of the premises would depend on the outcome of that proposal.

“There are plans being developed for the school’s campus to be extended and feasibility work is currently under way.”

The building was originally intended to have been demolished by the end of January 2019.

Councillor David Hall, portfolio holder for economic development, planning and community infrastructure, told the full council in March 2019 that the site had been decommissioned and was “not suitable for conversion” to a difference kind of leisure facility.

The council has now confirmed it has spent £48,000 on the site since 1610 officially vacated in September 2018 – most of which relates to rates charged on the premises.

The spokeswoman added: “This cost has been met from the small residue of funds available following the end of the contract with 1610.

“Demolition costs – if they occur – will be expected to form part of the expansion project at the Holyrood campus.”

Since the pool’s closure, children from the town’s three existing primary schools have had to travel to Crewkerne or Axminster for swimming lessons.

South Somerset District Council is currently constructing the town’s new swimming pool and leisure centre, as part of its much-trumpeted Chard Regeneration Scheme.

The new pool is expected to be open in August 2021 – nearly three years on from the original pool’s closure.