Croydon Council has dropped its plans to build a new swimming pool in South Norwood and is instead opting to refurbish the existing facility in a move which could see it open by the end of the year.

A £4million refurbishment of the pool in Portland Road is now planned and the work which will include renewing the roof and replacing the pool's water treatment plant with state-of-the-art cleaning and filtration equipment is expected to start shortly and will give the pool an extra 30 years life.

The decision, which followed a consultation between council officers and the new Conservative administration, will also bring about savings of £6million that can be used for modernising facilities elsewhere and could include making improvements to the nearby Croydon Arena.

Councillor Steve Hollands, cabinet member for culture and sport, said: "We regard this as a common sense solution for South Norwood. Although the original building was dated and needed freshening up, it was structurally sound and popular with users.

"With a facelift and improvements it will provide better facilities, last a lot longer and be open much sooner. It will also provide much better value for local taxpayers."