Winchester's River Park Leisure Centre is to undergo a £1.4m refurbishment.

Civic chiefs approved the major revamp, which is expected to get under way next year, at Wednesday's meeting of the Cabinet.

The council was committed to spending £1.1m on essential repairs to the building's infrastructure, such as replacing boilers, pipework and fixing leaks in the roof.

But councillors were concerned that the tens of thousands of users would notice no changes for their money when it reopens after a three-month closure. So the cabinet approved spending an extra £300,000 on upgrading the public facilities.

The works include removing the outdated flume ride and installing an alternative water feature, retiling the wetside changing rooms and upgrading its toilet and showers, refurbishing the dryside changing rooms and upgrading the ventilation in the wetside female changing room. Some £9,500 will also be spent on extending the CCTV system.

The works have been delayed from spring 2005 to 2006 to allow user groups more time to make alternative arrangements. The 250-member Penguins Swimming Club was concerned it may have had to fold because of the initial council proposals for work this year.

The improvements come in the light of increasing public dissatisfaction with the standards, particularly in the wetside changing rooms.

Thrse Evans, portfolio holder for culture, heritage and sport, said: "Closing early next year will be more convenient for members of the public.

"The public will walk back in and see the changes. A lot of the improvements are things that the public would like to see happen," she said.

Steve Tilbury, director of community services, said the essential works would make the building much more energy efficient.