Swimmers will soon benefit from improved facilities at Chesterfield's Queen's Park Sports Centre after a £191k grant was secured to modernise the pool area.

The grant, from Sport England, was secured by Chesterfield Borough Council to pay for a moveable boom, an electronic auto-time system, a re-furbished viewing gallery and disabled access to the gallery.

The Council is also investing £700k for the installation of a new air conditioning system to replace the old air handling system which has been in existence since the centre was built in 1969. Further grant money has been secured for an ultra violet chlorination unit that cleans the pool water and reduces the need for chemicals.

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The £191k comes from a pot of £25m that has been set aside to help councils modernise existing facilities or to help build new ones over the next two years. There were 170 applications for funding and Chesterfield was one of the 60 to successfully receive the full amount applied for.

Cllr David Stone, Lead Member for Healthy Communities and Leisure at Chesterfield Borough Council said: "This is great news for what is already a great asset to the town. Like all well-used facilities we need to constantly up-grade and refurbish the building so this money will go a long way to improving the look and features of the Centre."

The improvements to the pool will mean the main pool will close for 13 weeks from September 2009. The small pool will remain open for some swimming lessons, toddler and non-swimmer use. All the other facilities at Queen's Park will not be affected by the building work and will remain open. The Council will be working with other pools in the area to help accommodate the various clubs, organisations and residents who regularly use the pool.

(CD/JM)