CAMPAIGNERS battling to save a swimming pool are calling on Southampton council chiefs to meet them halfway in forming a rescue package.

Controversial moves to close Frank Johnson pool in Bassett could be ditched if a community trust scheme can be worked out.

But members of a users' action group said they needed officers' help in underwriting a business plan to save the council-owned building.

Spokeswoman Veronica Radford said: "We want them to help us look at managing the pool but also to have the back-up of retaining it themselves. This is in the public interest and what we pay our taxes for."

The 20-year-old pool on the site of Red Lodge School has been the focus of a campaign after the council said it couldn't afford rising repair costs.

Users and opposition councillors have taken issue with projected figures, saying retention is a matter of political will. Lib Dem education spokeswoman Margaret Singerman said: "We take the line that enough money is there to save it, and we wonder why the council cannot take it on in their own right.

"They are going to have to put in a lot of support in drawing up a business plan for the community to manage the pool. One wonders why they couldn't have done that in the first place."

Council leader June Bridle has insisted that repair costs are too much for the council's budget, but she said the door was still open for community management.

Councillors will be asked tomorrow to approve continued revenue support as the trust plan is explored, while retaining a closure option if a way forward is not found.

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