Coventry 50m pool plan: Alan Higgs Sports Centre deal struck

Alan Edward Higgs Charity will transfer the centre to Coventry and Warwickshire Award Trust (CAWAT).

A £14m Olympic-sized swimming pool could be built in Coventry after a deal was struck to take over a sports centre.

The charity that owns the Alan Higgs Centre will transfer the building to Coventry and Warwickshire Award Trust.

An eight-lane, 50m pool could be built at the centre in Allard Way to open in late 2018, Coventry City Council said.

Funding for the project is expected to be made up of council capital and grants from external funders, it said.

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One idea is to create 500 permanent seats to allow the pool to be used for regional competitions, said the council.

About 11,000 people have previously signed a petition to keep an Olympic-sized pool at the Fairfax Street sport centre

Designs and business plans are being looked into by the council and Coventry Sports Foundation which operates the centre.

They are in talks with Sport England, City of Coventry Swimming Club, Amateur Swimming Association and external funders.

About 11,000 people had previously signed a petition to keep an Olympic-sized pool at the Fairfax Street sport centre.

Council leader Ann Lucas said: "There's much more work still to do now, and wider investment will still need to be secured to achieve the ambition of retaining a 50 metre pool (in the city).

"Once we knew we could no longer continue to subsidise the Fairfax Street pool at the £2,000 a day it has been costing Coventry taxpayers, we started to look for alternatives."