South Norwood residents will have to wait until September for their leisure centre to be refurbished - just one month before an original plan to bulldoze and rebuild the building was due to be completed.

The face-lift has been plagued by delays since the council dropped plans to build a new pool in Portland Road.

The decision angered residents and led to town hall protests against the money saving measure.

The plans were approved with an expected completion date of September 2007, just weeks earlier than the original completion date for the rebuild.

The refurbishment was approved at a planning meeting last Thursday, despite concerns from many members of the committee.

Councillors voiced concerns about what one objector called an "eco-hostile" building. The council said the refurbishment would give the pool an extra 30 years of life and defended its decision, insisting the £6million saving can be used for modernising facilities elsewhere.

The plans were criticised by opposition leader Councillor Tony Newman, who called it a "shoddy alternative".

Coun Newman said: "The energy blueprint of this building is scandalous. It is a shoddy and rather shabby patch-up of the old pool and there must be serious questions raised about whether this building will last 30 years."

New features at the pool will include improved accessibility, a ramp for disabled access, landscaping, a public art sculptural feature, a new entrance canopy and mesh on windows to shade the pool from sun glare.

Coun Paul Scott, who supports the People for Portland Road community group, raised his concerns about parking as there are only 19 spaced provided in the plans - most of which are for staff.

He said: "It is difficult because this issue is a real hot political potato but the development has a massive reduction in parking."

However Coun Chris Wright said: "This is a refurbishment providing an excellent opportunity for young people and for everyone to enjoy. It is a vast improvement to what was there before, the building it is replacing was quite simply an eyesore."

  • What do you think? Post your comments below.