LONG-awaited repairs to a York swimming pool could finally be set to be carried out, but they will leave it closed for eight weeks.

City of York Council has submitted a planning application to carry out work on the walls and roof of Yearsley Pool, off Haxby Road.

The council's leisure boss Keith Orrell said the work was being funded by part of the money from last week's sale of the Barbican land to developers.

He said the work would take place during school holidays, to avoid disruption of school swimming lessons.

Coun Orrell said the work was long overdue but would improve the quality of facility provided.

He said: "It's been too long in coming. We would like to have done this sooner but finally, after 15 years or so, it's going to have a new roof."

Coun Orrell said that in recent years a net had had to be put up to catch bits of the ceiling that fell off.

He said: "Because the roof should have been replaced about 15 years ago, for the past couple of years it has had scaffolding up and netting over the top of the pool.

"Because it had not been done, we had to protect the public, and that was the way we did it till we got the resources from the Barbican pool.

Coun Orrell said discussions had been held with the users' group at Yearsley, to determine what sort of work they wanted done.

He said: "They did not want it to be totally modernised. It's a 100-year-old pool and they wanted to keep the character there. We have been in discussions with the group, and we wanted to maintain the kind of pool that people in Yearsley want."

He added: "It's part of the modernisation of all the facilities, like the new pools in west York and at the university, that we have been frustrated from doing."

The council's Labour leader Dave Merrett said: "Obviously it's important that repairs are done to Yearsley, but we know that full refurbishment costs several millions more than this.

"We have no improvements, I understand, to the customer areas or showers and changing areas, which is a serious omission."