A NEW swimming pool for St Neots looks to be moving a step closer with developers negotiating to purchase the site where the old pool once stood. Huntingdon property consultants Barker Storey Matthews is believed to be in the process of negotiating a deal

A NEW swimming pool for St Neots looks to be moving a step closer with developers negotiating to purchase the site where the old pool once stood.

Huntingdon property consultants Barker Storey Matthews is believed to be in the process of negotiating a deal which would see developers buy the land in Huntingdon Street.

If the sale goes through, money released from the land would be used to provide a new pool in the town. Whether it would be an outdoor facility is still unknown at this time.

Town councillor Paul Ursell, who is chairman of the St Neots Swimming Pool Trust, told The Hunts Post this latest development "moved things forward".

"This is a very positive step forward. In the next 18 months to two years I should think we will be well on our way to providing a scheme."

The Olympic-size outdoor swimming pool in St Neots was deemed unsafe and closed in 2003. The closure angered many residents who wanted it repaired and reopened.

"We were forced to close the pool and it was not a decision we took lightly," added Cllr Ursell. "The Swimming Pool Trust only exists to provide a swimming pool in the town - St Neots will get a new pool."

At a packed public meeting held in June to discuss ways of spending Mr Rowley's £1million gift to the town, a swimming pool came a close second to a cinema.

Some people even cheekily asked if the £1m could be increased to provide the town with both.

Cllr Ursell said: "We know how much the residents want a new swimming pool and we are committed to delivering it."

He added that finding land for a new swimming pool "would not be a problem" and that a number of sites had already been identified.