A POLITICAL row has broken out over proposed plans to secure an extra £1 million in funding for York’s new swimming pool.

Plans for the new swimming pool and sports facility, which will be part of the campus expansion at Heslington East, will be formally considered by City of York Council and the University of York in July.

The revised cost of the pool is now £8.9m, after cost-saving efficiencies were found which reduced the original design’s estimated £10.3m.

Funding for the project has not yet been found, but the plans have drawn criticism from the council’s Labour group, after it was announced the university will apply for an extra £1m from the council to support the project on top of the £2m agreed by the council in 2007.

Coun James Alexander, the council’s Labour leader, said the money could have been better spent elsewhere.

He said: “Labour councillors will be opposing this additional £1m as we did the initial £2m. We felt at the time the money could have been better spent kick-starting a city centre pool development to replace the loss at the Barbican.

The project, which will be accessible to the public as well as students, has drawn support from Liberal Democrat Councillor Nigel Ayre.

Coun Ayre said: “In principle this looks like a very good deal for local people. For an investment of £3million residents will have York’s first competition standard pool with full public access and the university taking responsibility for running the facility.”

Coun Ayre said the initial council outlay would save money in the long run. He said: “The agreement proposed would see the university taking all financial risk for running and maintaining the pool for 25 years in exchange for a £3m capital grant from the council.

“For the council to build and operate the pool by itself we would be looking at somewhere in the region of £30m over the 25 years.”

Councillors will consider proposals for the pool at a meeting on July 6.

A spokesman for the University of York said the university did not want to comment.