RUSTING radiators could put a council-owned swimming pool out of action for weeks.

Councillors in Halton heard on Monday night that problems getting replacement parts for Runcorn Swimming Pool’s ageing facilities meant minor repairs could force the baths to close for longer than normal.

Discussing “service delays” at the pool in Bridge Street, council officer Sue Lowrie told a council committee: “The radiators are all rusted. That may cause a two-week closure to replace them.”

Another officer, Chris Patino, described Halton’s leisure facilities as 'very, very poor', adding: “It’s embarrassing, to be honest.”

No date has yet been set for the pool’s radiators to be replaced.

Use of the pool, housed in the former market hall built in the 1860s, has declined in recent years after it stopped offering swimming lessons and the council intends to replace it with a newer facility.

However, Ms Lowrie explained, the local authority is yet to identify a suitable site in Runcorn, meaning the crumbling facility will remain open for the foreseeable future.

The replacement for Runcorn Swimming Pool will almost certainly open after the new Moor Lane leisure centre in Widnes, intended to free up the existing Kingsway Leisure Centre for redevelopment.

The council agreed in October 2019 to spend £20 million on the new leisure centre, to be built on a site currently occupied by a car park and Enterprise car hire office and expected to open in October 2022.

But the plans have caused an outcry from some Runcorn residents over perceived favouritism towards Widnes.

Cllr Carol Plumpton Walsh, who represents Halton Brook, told Monday night’s meeting: “The public think Widnes is getting everything and Runcorn is getting nothing.”

But Cllr Pamela Wallace, who represents Riverside ward in Widnes, said she was “delighted” with plans for the new leisure centre.

She said: “It’s going to be in my ward, if I’m lucky enough to get through, and it’s going to help with the redevelopment of that area.”