Multi-million pound plans for a huge new swimming pool and beach complex have moved a step nearer.

The long-awaited replacement for Worthing's crumbling 40-year-old Aquarena pool will now be built on one of two sites in the town and will cost at least £24 million.

Politicians who rubber stamped the plans have hailed the decision as a 'huge move forward'.

Worthing Borough Council leader Keith Mercer said: "It's what the people of Worthing want and need.

"There has been a lot of talk about what form the pool will take. But this is now a huge move forward."

Councillors decided the pool will be built either on the existing Aquarena site, on Brighton Road, or in the nearby Denton Gardens.

They had previously rejected plans to put the pool at the decrepit Teville Gate shopping area.

There remains significant obstacles to negotiate before work can start, not least the council selling two other areas of land to help fund the project.

Coun Mercer said he could not offer a timescale for the project, but said negotiations for the sales were well under way.

It is also still unclear whether the new pool would be run by the council or by a private firm.

Similar sized leisure centres across Sussex have recently been taken over by not-for-profit trusts and that option has not been ruled out by Worthing Borough Council.

Coun Mercer said: "There is still a long way to go, not least with the sale of the land.

"But this is a very significant development in our objective to provide a new pool for the town.

"We will have to look in detail about who will run the pool."

A so-called 'Active Beach Zone' could also be built as part of the complex.

It could feature a salt water outdoor swimming pool, linked to the sea along with other facilities.

Opposition councillors in the town have also welcomed the development.

However the Lib-Dem group has criticised the Conservative administration for not making the decision sooner.

They also claimed that more than £55,000 of taxpayers' money had been 'wasted' on assessing whether the Teville Gate site was a viable option for the pool.

Lib Dem Coun Bob Smytherman claimed his party knew the Teville Gate option 'had always been a non-starter' and said he had always backed the current plan.

He said: "It is very sad that the Tories failed to listen when the Liberal Democrats' plan was backed by the professional advice as well as 80 per cent of residents consulted on the town's Masterplan who supported the seafront option for an Active Beach Zone."

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