PROPOSALS to create a paddling pool for children in Okehampton are still a key policy for the town, councillors decided this week ? but the scheme is in limbo until the full costs have been worked out.

Time may be running out as the proposed paddling pool would be located on the site of the existing swimming pool, which is due to be demolished when the new multi-million pound Parklands Sports Centre opens in Simmons Park in four months? time.

The town council is in talks with West Devon Borough Council to see if some aspects of the old pool could form part of a smaller paddling pool facility, which could reduce the cost of the scheme.

At the close of a special meeting of the properties committee on Monday, chairman Cllr Charles Letchford said the council needed the detailed costings ?as quickly as possible.?

The purpose of the meeting was for structural engineer Bill Badger to answer councillors? questions and issues. These had been raised by the feasibility report he compiled on the conversion of the swimming pool into a paddling pool last month.

Cllr Christine Marsh said there were some obstacles that needed to be overcome but she hoped the scheme could be achieved.

She said: ?I think a paddling pool would be a well used facility. If you look at the other towns that provide one ? Bideford, Heavitree, Crediton and Tiverton, they are very much used in those places.

?It would attract people to the park. On a hot afternoon, it would be ideal for children to have a pool to splash and play in. It is a good way of introducing the very young ones to water.?

Cllr Marsh said the meeting with Mr Badger had been ?very positive? and the council was keen to take the project forward when it had a clear idea of the most affordable way to do so.

She said the town council would continue discussions with the borough council to see what, if any, plant could be retained from the original swimming pool and incorporated into the new design.

?We need to utilise the facilities that can remain to help keep the cost down,? said Cllr Marsh.

In his report Mr Badger set out an estimated cost of providing the scheme, which he stressed should be treated as ?very approximate?, of just over £100,000.

However, at the meeting, he said the figure could be revised downwards if demolition costs were reduced by utilising some of the existing plant.

Mr Badger told councillors the filtration system needed to ensure the water met cleanliness standards would be quite large.

He said: ?With a paddling pool with little children running in and out, it is actually quite heavy duty,? he said.

Councillors also discussed steps that could be taken to best reduce the potential for vandalism of the facilities.

The council agreed to instruct Mr Badger to come back to the parks committee with full costings for a plastic-lined paddling pool utilising the void of the existing site.

A children?s paddling pool for Simmons Park was identified as one of the key parts of the council?s concept plan to rejuvenate the park, unveiled last December.

Another scheme for Simmons Park, to reinstate a bandstand on the green will be discussed at a parks committee meeting later this month.