DARTMOUTH has just 50 days to keep its indoor swimming pool dream alive.

Builder Kier Construction has offered a fixed price of just over £2m for the project, which will be held for 45 days.

But after that the project is dead in the water, warned David Shaw, vice chairman of the pool trustees.

'The pool trustees have been notified by Kier Construction that the cost of the pool will be £2,169,296,' he said. 'There will be a meeting on Wednesday, May 20, between the trust, its project manager Randall Simmonds and Kier to finalise the specification.

'The resulting price will then be held for a 45-day period within which the trust must sign a construction contract to be eligible for the fixed price. The deadline is July 3 – just 50 days away from today [Friday, May 15].

'Kier are understandably frustrated by the delay in agreeing a contract, and have already reallocated some of their pre-construction team onto other more certain projects.

'If South Hams Council wishes to wait until September to decide whether or not to release the pledged funds to the trust, the opportunity will be gone.

'Construction price inflation will have added a further £70,000-£100,000 to the cost, which the trust would be unable to raise.

'The council is aware of the above issues, and is aware of the conditions relating to our VAT registration.

'It seems that these conditions will make it unlikely that the pool could be included in the leisure services review tender process, so the decision which the council has to make is do we release the funds now and allow the trust to build and operate the indoor pool, or do we refuse and withhold the funds?

'If the decision is to refuse, the project is dead and all that the town will have to show for the £120,000 which has been raised from the community will be a set of plans.'

Mr Shaw said there has been a huge groundswell of support since the Chronicle had reported the council was refusing the release the promised funding and illustrates by the many letters and emails of support from prominent bodies and individuals, including Sarah Wollaston MP and district councillors.

He said the planned demonstration next Thurs­day at the council's Follaton House headquarters in Totnes, and the petition to be handed into the first full meeting of the new council, would add weight to the argument 'that the town was capable of building and running the pool on a sustainable basis over the long term.'

'However the trust needs more if it is to succeed,' added Mr Shaw.

'We are urging people to send more letters and emails to South Hams Council, particularly would-be users, families who want to arrange swimming lessons for their children, organisations which want to see gentle non-load-bearing exercise classes for the more mature resident and council tax payers who want to know why the council discriminates against Dartmouth.'

He said the campaign also needed more funds to ensure the pool could be built and equipped.

'So please pledge as much as you can to keep the dream alive. You can email your pledges and letters of support to the pool's website at admin@dartmouthpool. co.uk and your pledge will only be taken up when a contract to build the pool is signed.

'The clock is ticking.'

Meanwhile, South Hams Council leader John Tucker has reiterated his support for an indoor swimming pool in Dartmouth, which he said would be discussed in June, at the first meeting of the council's executive committee.

But he again highlighted concerns that it would be remiss of the council to agree to something which could end up costing the taxpayer more money than was budgeted for.

In a statement this week, he said: 'South Hams Council is fully committed to engaging with an experienced leisure facility provider to run all its leisure facilities in a way that meets community needs and is able to reduce the council's current spending on the provision of its leisure facilities.'

He added that the 'pool must form part of our leisure review in terms of user numbers and economies of scale for operating costs'.

Cllr Tucker said: 'We are reviewing all of South Hams' leisure provision and it would be a dereliction of duty if we did not include Dart­mouth in this review, thus providing an opportunity for the pool to be run by an experienced leisure provider – something that the pool trust is keen to see happen.

'The council has committed an allocation of funding, but we have yet to receive any definitive information on how the pool will be run in the future and at no cost to the council, which has been the consistent message all along.

'The current plans do not allow for a connection to the existing dry-side leisure facility, which means that there will be extra costs involved in running two separate facilities. Whereas, by exploring options through the leisure review, a single provider should be able to run both facilities more cost effectively.

'While the council is keen to support the effective operation of the pool, it is the council's wish to ensure that the taxpayer is not left with any ongoing costs.

'It would be remiss of the council to agree to something which could end up costing the taxpayer more money than was budgeted, which is why the operating plan and business case need to be tested with the potential operators.

'We want to avoid a situation where the pool is built but is too costly to operate, thus forcing it to close and leaving a redundant building, or there is pressure put on the council to keep it open at the expense of the taxpayer.

'The matter will be discussed in June at the first meeting of the executive committee, where a report will be presented outlining the various options open to the council. South Hams Council is committed to a pool in Dartmouth – we are just determined to make sure that value for money is provided.'

Anyone wishing to join in the protest is invited to book a seat on one of the buses that will leave Dartmouth Boatfloat at noon, with pick-up points at the Sainsbury's bus stop and Sportsmans Arms.

The demonstration will take place at 1pm, before the council meeting at 2pm. Anyone wishing to book a seat on the bus is asked to call trustee Clare Ball on 01803 833292 or email [email protected]">[email protected].