PLANS to build a retractable sliding roof over Highworth pool have received a significant boost.

The project has been accepted for consideration by the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme.

The long-awaited roof scheme, which will cost £800,000, now hinges on whether the plans impress landfill companies.

Under the tax credit scheme, operators can donate up to 6.5 per cent of the money they pay in landfill duty to community projects in return for tax breaks.Trustees who run the lido at Highworth Recreation Centre have been told that the roof scheme meets the strict criteria set down for projects which can be supported.

They are hoping to receive between £250,000 and £300,000.

Trustees have already raised £322,000 from donations, grants and fundraising events.

Phil Baker, chairman of the trustees, said: "The plans will now be presented to landfill operators in the area.

"It just depends on whether it takes their fancy.

"I think we have a strong case because the centre has never received public money.

"It has always been funded by the people of Highworth."

Without a roof, Wiltshire's only outdoor pool faces closure.

Mr Baker said: "We're on a knife-edge because we're losing money. All our research shows that people want a roof over the pool."

The trustees are hoping to know by April if the plans have won the support of operators.

The tax credit scheme was launched in 1996 to mitigate the effects of landfill on nearby communities.

Trustees have been trying to build a roof over the pool since the mid-1990s.

The plans failed when an application for £1.6m of Lottery cash was refused in 1997. The pool, opened in 1963, has suffered a number of setbacks in recent years.

Vandals left a trail of destruction there in the summer of 2002.

The attacks happened just months after a £18,000 refurbishment. Trustees hope the roof will make the pool more secure.

It is also hoped that year-round swimming will boost revenue.

At present, the pool is only open between April and September.