Derby swimmer Adam Peaty says Moorways pool closure 'a waste'

Adam Peaty won two gold medals at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Plans to close a Derby swimming pool would be a "waste", according to gold medal winning swimmer Adam Peaty.

Moorways swimming pool is set to close under the city council's plans to save £79m over the next three years.

Sports Personality of the Year nominee Peaty, who trains at the City of Derby's swimming club, said the closure would be a bad thing for the city.

The council said closing the pool would save £350,000 a year and a bigger pool will open on the same site in 2017.

Moorways swimming pool is due to close in April and will eventually be replaced.

Peaty, who won two gold medals and a silver at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, said closing Moorways was a "bit of a waste".

"I don't know why they're closing it. Obviously the more pools open the better.

"It's all about the legacy off the back of 2012. They seem to be shutting more pools than they're opening so it's just trying to get that balance right."

Derventio Excel, a swimming club which used to coach Commonwealth Games medallist Molly Renshaw and meets at Moorways in Allenton, said the decision would have a big impact on the city producing more elite swimmers.

Ross Davenport, who won two gold medals at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, also used to train at Moorways.

Derby City Council said the 33m pool would close in April but would be replaced with a 50m pool in three years' time.

Its latest round of cuts are the "toughest" in its history, it said.

Peaty lost out to Lewis Hamilton in the BBC Sports Personality of the Year on Sunday.