Plans for swimming pool at former casino

Planning documents said the former casino unit has been empty for almost a decade

A former casino that shut almost 10 years ago could be turned into a swimming pool.

Company Swim! has applied for permission to Middlesbrough Council to turn a section of Teesside Park's Rainbow Casino in Middlesbrough into a pool.

The company, which provides lessons for children under 12, said in its planning documents: "The proposal is to cater for swimming lessons for children by ensuring the provision of facilities that are accessible to the residential areas that it will serve."

The casino shut in 2016 and the unit has been vacant since.

The wider building houses Ninja Warrior UK, directly next to the site earmarked for the pool.

Plans include creating a new entrance at the front of the building and removing access doors at the back, reports the Local Democracy Reporting Service.