BLACKBURN with Darwen Council is pressing ahead with plans to knock down the Daisyfield Pools complex controversially closed in August last year.

But the authority's health boss Cllr Damian Talbot said it was looking at options to replace them with Sport England.

The shutting of the 118-year-old building after the discovery of legionella bacteria was confirmed by the council's executive board in September despite more than 30 swimmers and supporters turning up the meeting where Shelley Whitehead from HalfFISH, which has operated the building since 2016, pleaded for the complex to be reprieved.

The decision followed a consultation on the decision and swimming provision in the area.

The authority's finance council meeting in February approved the knocking down of Daisyfield Pools and the redundant Shadsworth Leisure Centre and allocated a budget of £1.5mullion to cover the demolition costs for both.

Now Blackburn with Darwen Council's growth programme director Simon Jones has authorised the tender process to find a contractor to flatten the two buildings.

The authority's Conservative group leader Cllr John Slater, who opposed the shutting of Daisyfield Pools at the executive board meeting, said: "This is sad.

"The Daisyfield Pools closure should not have happened.

"The council is just selling off all its assets to keep itself financially afloat. It does not care about the people of Blackburn."

Mr Jones' report on the tender process says: "The council has declared the former leisure centres at Shadsworth and Daisyfield as surplus to requirements and is preparing tender documents for the demolition of the former leisure centres, with the plan to demolish the former Shadsworth Leisure Centre during summer 2024 and the former Daisyfield Leisure Centre later in the year.

"Both former leisure centres will be demolished during the year 2024/25.

"Tenders for each leisure centre will be advertised in line with the council’s constitution.

"Both buildings are vacant with a high risk of vandalism and can attract anti-social behaviour and as such both buildings are programmed for demolition building to be demolished in the 2024/25 financial year.

"The council approved at Finance Council in February 2024 a capital budget of £1.5m to cover the demolition costs for both former leisure centres."

Cllr Talbot, who learned to swim at Daisyfield Pools, said: "Repairing Daisyfield Pools at a cost of £3.1million was not financially viable. The building is more than 100 years old.

"As we promised the council is working with Sport England to look at building a replacement pool which we will do if we can produce a viable business plan to get the grants needed.

"The authority could not afford the maintenance and security costs of leaving the building standing empty.

"The last Sport England report on swimming in the borough said we should have two pools in Blackburn and one in Darwen.

"There is currently one in each town so the ambition is to to build a second in Blackburn if it is financially viable as there would have to be a contribution from the council in addition to nay grants.

"There is no reference to selling the Daisyfield site in the report."