Councillors have labelled plans to revitalise a £25 million leisure centre 'brave'.

Tides Leisure Centre in Deal has been considered for redevelopment since 2020 but the pandemic delayed any further progress.

The scheme would involve demolishing the existing wet side and building a rejuvenated leisure centre.

This would include a four-lane 25m swimming pool, a splash play area with two flumes and a health and fitness suite.

After several delays, Dover councillors have now approved the project and this month, two strategic directors, Roger Walton and Mike Davis, gave their backings for the plans at a scrutiny committee.

Mr Davis broke down the costs for the scheme and said the £25 million will be covered by £20 million borrowing and £5 million from council reserves.

The borrowing will be financed over a 40 year loan.

Mr Walton also confirmed the same contractor, BAM Construction Limited, who carried out the Dover leisure centre refit in 2019 would also work on the Deal centre.

He said: “This is a challenging decision for the council as to where to go next.

“We know this building needs something done to it, and to some extent doing nothing isn’t an option either.

“One way or another we have to do something with a building that is ageing and is going to see decline in use, as it becomes less and less attractive in comparison to other facilities.”

Chair of the committee Cllr Charlotte Zosseder (Lab) raised concerns over the length of the loan claiming that Dover District Council had to put "significant funds" into the old Dover leisure centre only 30 years after it was built.

However Mr Davis said that the project wasn't funded entirely with borrowing: "The bulk of the costs of creating the building itself is about £5 million, which isn't being borrowed.

"One could say it's not a science, forecasting the life of these buildings.

"I think this should last longer than 40 years, more like 60.

"The alternative is we borrow shorter and then we don't do it."

Meanwhile Cllr Peter Walker (Ind) said the project needed clear targets and objectives: “When I first saw this report I wrote down one word: brave.

“It’s brave for Dover council to consider it, it’s brave for two senior officers to say what they have said.

“We’ve seen what’s happened with the Dover leisure centre and its success is becoming more apparent day by day.

“But I remember the council scrutinising the Dover leisure centre, and the contractors who took everything so seriously and listened to everything that was said.

“To hear they’re being involved already is really good news.

“We need to use the experiences from the Dover leisure centre, from start to finish, to help us get there with the Deal centre.”

Dover District Council will now progress with the project having allocated £600,000 to move onto the next stage.