THE future of leisure services in Tavistock was discussed in depth by members of West Devon Borough Council's community services committee this week, in anticipation of Kelly College's advancement on the Olympic Legacy Pool project.

From indications that Kelly College was closing in on its required fundraising target for the proposed 50m pool, the committee discussed what impact it would have on the swim provision in Tavistock.

In the Strategic Leisure Review update presented to members, natural environment and recreation manager Ross Kennerley stated that the provision of the olympic pool and additional community use of the existing 25m pool at the college could have 'marked impacts' on the overall swim provision in Tavistock with 'clear potential impacts' on the existing, council-managed Meadowlands pool.

At the meeting Mr Kennerley said that Kelly College was at the stage of forming its views on how and when the project would go ahead. He said the council needed to decide whether to be involved or not.

'We want them to put forward what they want the role of the council to be,' he said. 'We need to see a formal proposal of what they want from us and when we get that it will help to shape the discussion. This will clearly be a challenging issue for all involved.'

Chair of the committee Cllr Robert Oxborough said they needed to decide whether the council had the appetite to be involved and what the implications would be on the revenue at Meadowlands.

He said: 'If we want to be part of it we need to make a quick decision. If we don't buy in early we might miss out altogether.

'If we were to be involved it would make sense for us to have a financial stake rather than be bit players. A financial stake may be in the council's interest.

'This is not something we can allow to drift now. It will be contentious, there are a lot of issues and questions that need to be answered and we don't have a lot of time.'

Cllr Oxborough highlighted that it could be the biggest decision the council would have to make in 2014.

Councillor Alison Clish-Green said that that the emphasis was wrongly on Kelly College: 'We seem to be focusing on what Kelly College is doing and our involvement with them. It's Meadowlands we should be worrying about.

'We've got to sort out what the implications will be for us. One option is that we get out of anything to do with swimming pools. What merit is there for us to be in with Kelly College?

'We need to think about what alternatives we should be looking at. We should look more at the assets we own and the public money we are using.'

Cllr Mandy Ewings said: 'We need to bear in mind if we are asked to contribute, I'm not sure how well it will go down with the public. The council is cutting services and putting up the council tax and then will be seen to be putting X amount towards this. You've said it could be the biggest decision of 2014 — it could also be the biggest mistake.'

Councillors agreed to instruct officers to undertake further investigation works into the project including obtaining more information from Kelly College.