WINTERBOURNE'S public swimming pool is to be handed over to The Ridings High School after a long struggle to keep the facility afloat.

The pool has always been jointly run by the school and Winterbourne Parish Council, which has had to make significant cash injections to pay for running costs and repairs.

Councillors agreed last year that after 31 years of co-running the pool, it was time to throw in the towel.

At a special meeting on Monday night, they unanimously agreed a resolution which will extricate themselves from the 1974 agreement.

Cllr Idwal (CORR) Baines said: "We have spent months on this. It seems as though we are treading water so to speak - we have been talking about this for a long time."

The resolution - which gives The Ridings two years notice before it will single-handedly manage the pool - was put to the school on Wednesday night.

The swimming pool is expected to be run in conjunction with the school's new sports village.

Cllr Andy Cox said: "I want to make sure that the school publicises the pool properly. When the sports village is up and running, The Ridings will have a huge catchment area and will include people from outside the parish.

"I want to tie the school down as much as possible so that people from within the parish will know, at any given time, when the pool is open."

The parish council has been paying £13,000 a year to support the pool but has now agreed to pay £18,000 each year for the next two and to clear its £11,000 debt by 2007.

A community user group - with representatives from both the parish council, the swimming pool management committee and the school - will now be set up to help in decision-making processes.