Residents say the pool at Palatine Leisure Centre is drowning in the number of swimmers following the closures of St George's swimming pool in Marton and St Annes baths.

The problem is set to worsen with the potential increase of swimmers in Blackpool thanks to a £140m Government investment which will allow local authorities to provide free swimming to pensioners and under-16s.
Kath Turner, head coach for Blackpool Swimming Club, said people using the Palatine baths on St Annes Road are fighting for space.

She said: "It's quite hazardous really. It's difficult.
"You find quite a lot of people are fighting for space."

Suzanne Steedman, 41, of Marton, took her nine-year-old daughter Amy to a swimming lesson at the Palatine centre on Wednesday evening.

She said: "It was mobbed, it was just chaos. There was a group of Brownies there who used to go to St George's. There were three lanes for swimming lessons and then the public trying to use the pool
too. It's an accident waiting to happen."

Avril Braithwaite, 61, of Ash Street, South Shore, said: "I go swimming twice a week. I used to go to St Annes pool but now I have to go to Palatine."

But Coun Tony Williams said the number of swimmers using Blackpool's remaining pools – Palatine and Moor Park – is down on last year.

He said: "Both the pools have less numbers than last year. Palatine has 20 per cent less swimming than last year, it is not running at capacity.

"The new scheme will increase the number of swimmers but there is capacity for that."

The free swimming scheme is part of the Government's aim to ensure a lasting sporting legacy from the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games.

Andrew McGhee, 14, of Highfield Road, South Shore, said he thinks it will encourage youngsters to stay off the streets.

He said: "I would definitely go swimming more if it was free – it's good fun and good exercise."

Local authorities that take up the over-60s and under-16s offer will benefit from a share of a £10m capital fund for 2008 and 2009 to help modernise swimming facilities.

A further £50m will also be available for those local authorities that adopt the scheme between 2009 and 2011 to improve pools and support free swimming expansion.

Gordon Marsden, MP for Blackpool South, believes the council should apply for this grant in order to refurbish St George's pool.

He said: "Pool usage at the Palatine centre is already quite busy and heavy – particularly during the holiday periods – and it seems to me that in the light of these new funding proposals there is a strong case for the Council looking at how St George's might be re-used."