LACK of maintenance has been blamed after it was announced that Nantwich Swimming Pool is to close for up to 12 weeks for repairs.

The pool needs urgent repairs to fix leaking concrete in the indoor and outdoor pool and the cost is expected to cost the tax payers £120,000.

The repair list has come after engineers carried out a survey in October last year identifying key areas which, if not fixed, could become dangerous.

Other work includes an electrical upgrade and improvements to disabled access.

The money for the work has already been earmarked in the building's maintenance budget for 2001/2.

Cllr Steve Hogben, Chair of Corporate Services said: "The closure will make it possible for all the work to be done in just one session, reducing the disruption to visitors."

Cllr Michael Lockhart, opposition chair of Corporate Services, which has to approve any closure said: "I would have thought with some effort we could at least keep the open air pool in operation in the summer months."

Conservative spokesman on leisure Cllr Brian Silvester said: "People in Nantwich are getting a raw deal, the baths already lose £1,000 a day and this will add to the costs. It is a substantial amount of money but if the baths had been maintained it would have been cheaper."

Labour chair of the Leisure Committee, Jayne Wright, said: "Our objective is to maintain the facility and public safety is our prime concern."

Byron Davies, Head of Leisure for the council, is to report to the March meeting of the Leisure Committee with an outline of the repair work.