DARTMOUTH'S indoor swimming pool dream could be back on track.

South Hams Council's executive committee will be asked to release vital funds to allow building work to begin on the long-awaited £2m-plus project.

Cllr Michael Saltern, chairman of the council's overview and scrutiny panel which met last week, said: 'I am going to make a recommendation [to the executive] that we continue with our original intention of granting £400,000 for the construction of the indoor pool.

'I feel that we have raised the expectations of the Dartmouth community to such an extent that to not proceed at this stage would bring this council into severe disrepute.'

He said more work may be needed to be done to secure the £2.169m fixed price contact start date set by Kier Construction of July 3.

'But that does not undermine my view that we should be true to the commitment that we have given to the people of Dartmouth,' he said.

Cllr Saltern was summing up after an hour-and-a-half debate at the council's headquarters at Follaton House, Totnes, last Thursday, where members of the Dartmouth and District Indoor Swimming Pool Trust gave assurances that, even with the worst 'Doomsday scenario', they believed they could keep the pool running.

Afterwards trust chairman Sir Geoffrey Newman said pool campaigners were delighted with the outcome, which would enable them to mobilise the town. He said the vote of seven votes to two, with one abstention, in favour of releasing funds to the trust in time to allow the fixed price contract with Kier to be signed sent a powerful message to the SHDC's executive committee meeting on Thursday, June 18.

'The trust looks forward to the deliberation of the executive committee with renewed confidence,' he said.

He said he and the two other trust members at the meeting – vice chairman David Shaw and George Hardy – were impressed by Cllr Saltern's chairmanship, which allowed the trust to state its case and respond to searching questions raised by panel members.

'Cllr Saltern exuded calm authority, a businesslike approach, impartiality and good humour,' he said.

The release of funds by the council would be among the final pieces in a complicated jigsaw that has stalled the pool project amid fears it would collapse as construction costs soared.

After some 10 years of planning and fundraising, building work was halted at the 11th hour after the council expressed concerns over the running costs of the pool and its sustainability.

Its suggestion that the project should form part of a review of all its leisure services within the district brought cries of disbelief from Dartmouth people who mounted a protest to the first meeting of newly­ elected council last month.

Sir Geoffrey told last Thursday's meeting: 'I apologise for protesters banging on the widow but I really couldn't hold back Dartmouth.'

He said the trust welcomed the opportunity to engage with the council in more detail.

Mr Shaw said there was widespread support for the pool as was shown by the recent demonstration, letters from individuals, schools, groups and organisations. He said the trust was confident it had met all the conditions of the original offer from the council in 2009.

'We have money to build a pool up until July 3 but once we go past that date, Kier estimates the cost of the project by September will have risen by £70,000 to £100,000, which is clearly well beyond the budget of the trust,' he said.

Mr Shaw said there were some potential risks outside of the contract, such as bad weather or, for example, if asbestos were found in the ground, for which the trustees had put forward a surety of £75,000 of their own money.

He said Dartmouth Town Council had agreed to provide a subsidy of £10,000 per year towards running costs for 10 years, Dartmouth Academy would spend £20,000 a year on swimming lessons and four local primary schools had also made a commitment to use the indoor pool.

He said the trust had raised £173,000 since 2010 and was confident it could continue that level of fundraising. He said the annual influx of visitors in the summer would boost user numbers, as would the West Dart development if it went ahead.

Mr Shaw said volunteer staff in administrative roles would form a key part of the pool's operational budget and there would be no compromise to health and safety in lifeguard cover.

In 2010, the Amateur Swimming Association was appointed to examine local swimming needs and concluded there was both a need for and the ability to sustain an indoor pool for the district, the meeting heard. The trust updated this ASA business plan in 2012.

Mr Shaw said even estimating what might happen if revenue was only 50 per cent of projected income, the trust could still operate on a break-even basis with support from the town council.

'But that is a Doomsday scenario and not the way we want to move forward,' he said. 'We would pin our flag to the ASA model.'

Mr Shaw said it was not feasible to think the trust could run the pool and the leisure centre on a 25-year, full-repairing lease.

He said prior to the leisure centre review the assumption had always been that the trust would run the pool itself or Tone Leisure would run it for them under contact.

He said the preferred option of the trust was for the pool to be built and operated together with the leisure centre.

But Mr Shaw said a delay in obtaining the funding could scupper the pool.

'If we do not get funding by July 3, then the cost of the pool will go beyond the funding of the trust,' he said.

South Hams Council's engineering manager Chris Brook said it was not clear what the cost of a delay between July and September would actually be.

But he said in any other project, if there was a suggestion it would rise by £100,000, he would dismiss it as being incorrect.

He said the unknown difference between the July and September price was 'one small risk' to the project.

'The much bigger risk is being able to afford to run the pool in the longer term,' he said. 'That is the big problem.'

And he warned, despite the best efforts by the trust, unless there was a guarantee that any revenue subsidy in the future could be met, South Hams Council could end up with a pool on its land which had to close.

And the council's executive director Steve Jorden said responsibility would rest with South Hams Council.

'If it's on council land, the council would be liable to sort out the problem,' he said.

He said the council had never said 'no' to handing over the £400,000 but there were 'some gaps in that understanding' that needed to be addressed.

Mr Brook added the pool specification was not the best that could be produced to reduce long-term running costs, but it was 'fit for purpose' and would be far better than any pool built in the 1970s, 80s or 90s.

He said the indoor pool would still be in the council's leisure services review if building work started in July. But if that review came back saying the pool was either revenue neutral or there were issues with costs, it would be 'too late to do anything about it'.

Mr Shaw maintained it was discriminatory that the council was prepared to subsidise other leisure centres in the district but not Dartmouth.

But Cllr Saltern reminded the meeting that the original commitment from the council was a capital one.

'I need to get over this hurdle how we are going to solve the difference between the July date, which seems key, and the September date,' he said.

'I cannot see why we cannot go with July 3 date to save this unnecessary risk.'

Vice chairman Cllr Keith Wingate said, as far as he was concerned, the trust could 'get on and build the pool'. But he called for assurances the trust could take on the risk and run it, either alone or with a new operator.

'We don't want to take on another pool and take on the risk of having to put more money into it,' he said.

'But I would support it if the trust could ensure there would be no liabilities to the council over its running.

'I'm fairly content to give you the £400,000 but the ongoing costs of running the pool have to be met by the association.

'We are looking to review the way we provide leisure in the rest of the market towns because this authority doesn't have the money to fund it and we can't keep putting the liability to the precept, so it's key that this project stands alone and you can make it run.

'And when we get to the leisure review, this will have to be looked at in isolation.'

Cllr Nicky Barnes said she admired the enthusiasm of the people of Dartmouth but had concerns over the trust 'going it alone' in running the project.

'Do you have a ring-fenced maintenance budget or a slush fund you can tap into if something goes wrong?' she asked.

'It has always been made clear we would give capital costs but no ongoing revenue costs. I do have concerns but fear they come too late in the day.

'Councils do not have a obligation to provide leisure facilities and providing £400,000 is above and beyond what we should do as a council and I think we should stop at that.

'I feel disappointed we are at this stage that we are leaving it to the last minute to be discussing finite detail.'

Cllr Keith Baldry said councillors should not ignore the point made by Mr Brooks about guarantees over revenue or they could end up with a white elephant. But Cllr Tom Holway said there was no more an objective body than the ASA to give an assessment of the probable revenue that would be generated from the pool.

'So I am finding it difficult to challenge that,' he said.

Cllr Saltern said councillors had to accept the pool trust on trust.

He said in September 2009 the executive had approved a grant application in principle.

A letter was sent to Sir Geoffrey Newman offering a grant of £400,000 in the investment in the community initiative subject to conditions, including the confirmation of match funding, the provision of a business case and written evidence of the revenue funding.

All of those conditions had been complied with by the trust, he said.