The recent refurbishments of Taunton Pool have proven to be very successful and have received praise from many people in the town, including dedicated swimmer Ann Reynolds, She has thanked Taunton Deane Borough Council for its commitment and financial backing for the major project.

Conservative Borough Council Leader Cllr John Williams welcomed the praise and said: “It is gratifying to receive such unprompted and supportive comments. All involved – our staff, contractors and partners Tone Leisure, worked tirelessly on the pool refurbishment.”

“The opening by Olympian Mark Foster was wonderful, bringing so many people together to celebrate a real success story.”

Following this success, the plans are in place to build a new £5.3 million swimming pool and spa at Blackbrook in Taunton. The plans got the go-ahead on 13th August, marking another milestone in the scheme to provide first class leisure facilities in the county town. The development will see a 25m six-lane pool, a smaller learner pool, spa and treatment rooms, changing village, a café and kitchen and storage space.

The pool and spa will be built on a site next to the existing leisure centre at Blackbrook and will replace the ageing pool in St James Street which has become increasingly expensive to maintain and will give the Council more opportunities to develop the town centre site. The decision to build the pool complex follows and in-depth review of swimming provision in the Borough that found a new pool was needed as St James Street pool was near the end of its life. Blackbrook was chosen as it already hosts the popular leisure centre.

Sports pitches close to the planned pool and spa will be retained and “buffered” by a safety area to avoid any clash between the new buildings and the playing areas. The plans include space for car parking and space for coaches for school children using the pool.

Conservative Cllr Catherine Herbert, responsible for sports, parks and leisure in Taunton, said: “I am delighted that we now have planning approval for the new pool and spa. This means we can now move to the next stage."

“Our aim as a Council is to ensure Taunton Deane has a first class leisure provision to complement our growth plans.’”

Now planning permission has been granted the Council will look to start building in January 2015.

Contact Details