Eastleigh'S housing boom is providing fresh impetus to a project aimed at getting a disused swimming pool back into action.

The Shakespeare Community Pool Project - supported by Councillor Maureen Sollitt as one of her good causes during her year of office as mayor of Eastleigh last year - is bidding to reopen the former swimming pool based in the grounds of Shakespeare Infant School on the Boyatt Wood estate.

Now, members of the public are being urged to turn out in force for the annual general meeting of the project on Tuesday.

Project chairman Terry Holden-Brown said: "The pool, originally built in the early 1960s, was taken out of use ten years ago.

"But with the expected increase in population across Eastleigh town over the next five years, there is a real need for this facility to be available to the public. In addition the closure of Tankerville School and its pool will affect local schools' ability to teach swimming."

Jane Field, the driving force behind the project, said: "Many people in Eastleigh had their first experience of swimming in the pool. It is such a shame that it was allowed to be closed and now it is our aim to get it up and running for all the local community."

She added: "Last year's mayoral fund-raising has secured an extra £10,000 for the project and with the progress being made on charitable status, it is an exciting time for everyone involved in the project."

The pool project's AGM will be held at St Peters Church, Shakespeare Road, Eastleigh, starting at 7.30pm.