A TOWN'S leisure centre is to be knocked down and replaced with a £9million complex after a giant crack was found in the swimming pool.

Blackburn with Darwen Council plans to shut Darwen Leisure Centre for two years next January after structural engineers revealed the fault was not going to get any better.' Council bosses want the leisure centre to become the flagship competitive pool for the borough.

But the move has prompted concern that some users of the pool will miss out on two years' swimming as classes and clubs based at the lesiure centre will be moved to pools outside Darwen during construction work.

The crack across the bottom of the 25-yard pool is causing water to leak and is growing every time the pool is emptied for cleaning.

It will be replaced by an eight lane, 25 metres long pool, allowing competitive galas to be held at the centre for the first time.

Other discovered at the 70-year-old centre include structural problems with the facade, and the thinning of the sports hall floor after repeated sanding.

Coun Dave Smith, executive member for culture, leisure and sport, said: "The crack in the swimming pool wasn't going to go away but in general the building is becoming tired so we have taken the decision to provide Darwen with a brand new leisure centre.

"It will cause inconvience but I am certain it will make a massive difference to the people of Darwen by end of 2008.

"People also said that they wanted us to keep the facade of the sports centre, and we intend to do that."

Nick Murphy, who swims with Darwen Masters group and helps organise the annual triathalon at the centre, said: "The new pool is very welcome and certainly overdue, particuarly when you look at the changing rooms.

"We've been involved in the first discussions and hopefully the disruption it will cause will be worth it."

Barbara Fisher, chair of the Darwen Amateur Swimming Club, which uses the pool, said: "We are quite happy to have a new pool but we did express concern that we would potentially have nowhere for the children to swim."The borough has said they will find us somewhere else, but as Darwen swimmers that isn't always practical."

Coun Jean Rigby, a Conservative councillor for Turton and Tockholes, said: "I think there are other options the council could have pursued, which would have worked better." She said the new complex could have been built on a different site to allow the current pool to stay open during construction work.

A smaller pool will also be built along with a new fitness gym and aerobic/exercise studio. A new sports hall for community use will be built at Darwen Vale High School.

The crack is first thought to have appeared as a result of the draining of the pool during the winter, which changes the temperature of the sides of the pool.

The pool, originally, was only used in the summer months and then covered over in the winter and used as a dance hall.

Steve Rigby, director of culture, leisure and sport, added: "We were told the crack wasn't going to get any better but there is no health and safety risk. A long-term solution does need to be found though and we think this is it."

The work is being funded by the council but it is also hoping for a grant from Sport England, the Government's sport funding body.