SWIMMERS in Radcliffe will soon have a pool once more with work now underway on a £1.15 million temporary facility.

Construction has started on the 25-metre by 8-metre swimming pool which is set to open at Radcliffe Riverside High this Spring and will be in place for at least a year.

A blue and grey building housing the pool will be virtually hidden from the road, located between the sports halls and boiler room, and will have no windows so “specialised groups” can use it.

There will also be an access ramp, disabled changing room and pool hoist.

Four classrooms at Radcliffe Riverside High will become a gym and changing rooms.

The school in Spring Lane, which closed last summer, was chosen as the site for the temporary pool because of its ample car parking, community sports facilities and proximity to the town's Metrolink tram stop.

The temporary pool is expected to be operational for at least a year while proposals for a multi-million pound permanent facility to replace the current leisure centre in Green Street are developed.

It is hoped some of the £1.15 million cost of building the temporary structure will be recouped, as Bury Council plan to sell it after use.

By providing a 25m temporary facility, council bosses hope Radcliffe Swimming Club will begin training at the pool after more than a year of using Castle Leisure Centre.

The main swimming pool at the 47-year-old Radcliffe Leisure Centre closed in December 2013 after severe weather damaged windows and dislodged asbestos.

During repairs, it was discovered the concrete columns and steelwork of the pool’s structure were decaying and corroded due to years of exposure to water and chemicals.

The pool, which dates from 1968, needs substantial immediate repairs estimated at least £1.5 million and further costly maintenance is also likely to be needed in the future.

Last year Bury Council announced it plans instead to demolish the leisure centre, with a new facility costing an estimated £10 million to be built on the site.

The Radcliffe Times understands this project will be funded through a mixture of government grants, council capital and borrowing.