‘Will Minsthorpe Swimming Pool ever be built?’

Wakefield Council’s cabinet approved a proposal to build the £5m facility at Minsthorpe Community College in November last year.

The decision followed the closure of Minsthorpe Swimming Pool in 2013.

But nine months after the cabinet approved the school as the site of the new facility, no planning application has been submitted.

David Ftizgerald, a spokesman for Minsthorpe Pool Action Group, said: “We are getting towards the end of the summer now and we haven’t heard anything which is a concern.

“The council has said that the pool will be built by January 2017 but we are concerned that there aren’t any further delays as it might mean it isn’t done by then.”

The council closed Minsthorpe Swimming Pool in 2012 because of maintenance problems.

An investment of more than £1.2m was needed to fix the facility, and in June 2013 the council shut the pool down permanently after they said it was not financially viable to upgrade it.

Mr Fitzgerald said: “We are also still concerned that this plan may never happen. I think with schemes like this you can only truly believe them once you see diggers on the site.”

Karen Collins, service director for culture, leisure and sport at Wakefield Council, said: “We regularly meet with different groups and are happy to update them on the progress of plans for Minsthorpe Pool.

“We are working closely with Minsthorpe College and Minsthorpe Community Trust to ensure the many practical and design matters which are essential when planning for a major scheme have all been addressed.”