COMMUNITY groups have welcomed North Wiltshire District Council's decision to formally accept a Lottery grant of £1.18 million to fund an indoor swimming pool in Malmesbury.

It means the council will now have to commit itself to providing £1.010 million towards the project over the next few years.

The council's executive committee however, agreed on Tuesday to take the plunge.

John Parmiter, the chairman of Malmesbury Marlins Swimming Club, said: "It's a brilliant decision. Malmesbury has suffered too long from the lack of an indoor pool."

The swimming club has about 70 members who are currently forced to travel to indoor pools in Cirencester and Chippenham for practise sessions and galas when Malmesbury's old outdoor pool is closed for eight months of the year between September and April.

Mr Parmiter said: "We're restricted in our activities because we don't have a lot of water time.

"The money saved in travelling to other towns could, in future, be devoted to more water time for the club."

"We could also perhaps expand our activities to include water polo and synchronised swimming."

Margaret Curnock, the secretary of the Action Access Group said the warmer, indoor facilities at the new pool would enable more disabled and elderly people to enjoy the benefits of swimming.

She said: "Exercise is paramount for disabled and elderly people. Water takes a person's weight, so even if you have difficulty standing, you should be able to swim for exercise."

Executive committee member and county councillor Lesley Bennett said: "It is a lot of money, but the pool is something that Malmesbury really needs."

She said the pool would benefit not only Malmesbury, but also the thousands of residents in the surrounding villages.

The cost of the new pool is estimated at £2.5 million.

Executive committee members agreed to allocate £43,250 towards the pool in the current financial year, £165,000 next year, £2.2 million in 2002, and £47,000 in 2003.

Malmesbury Town Council and a number of parish councils have also pledged £14,000 to help with the costs, and Wiltshire Amateur Swimming Association has promised a further £1,000. An anonymous donor in Malmesbury has also given £300,000 towards the pool.

Coun Bennett said a large part of the costs could be recovered through the sale of the old outdoor pool site. She said the 40-year-old pool would have to be closed because it was not economically feasible to run two swimming pools in a small market town.

But Malmesbury town councillor Brian Slade, who is the chairman of the town's recreation committee, said the old pool site could make a perfect venue for a much-needed skateboard park. He said he would be pressing for this.

Although the executive committee has committed itself to the pool, the Lottery money will only be handed over after the tender stage, once the Lottery panel is satisfied its conditions have been met.

The district council is hoping to receive tenders by October 2001, and finish the pool by March 2003.