BOLTON could soon have a new town centre swimming pool.

A £5 million scheme is being considered by council chiefs and the University of Bolton.

A feasibility study has been launched to investigate the costs needed to create a new public swimming pool on land next to the university's sports hall in Derby Street.

Bosses are hoping to build a multi-purpose health and well-being centre, featuring a 25-metre pool, fitness suites and a sports injury rehabilitation clinic.

It would be the only public swimming pool in Bolton town centre, replacing the Water Place which was closed in 2002 after raking up debts of around £750,000 a year.

Derby Street is currently the preferred site for the development but a number of other locations are also under consideration.

The £20,000 survey is the culmination of 12 months of talks between the university and the council.

Cllr Martyn Cox, executive member for Culture at Bolton Council, said the council wanted to build up a full picture of the costs involved before fully committing itself to the project.

He said: "Lessons have been learnt from the experience of the Water Place and the same mistakes will not be made again.

"We are making thorough investigations and want to make sure we know exactly what we are going into rather than end up in a position like we were a few years ago.

"With any public leisure facility there is going to be a degree of public funding but we have to make sure that level of public funding is acceptable."

If the site does get the go-ahead, project bosses will have to decide whether to build it next to the sports hall or demolish the building and replace it with a new multi-purpose facility.

Consultants Price Waterhouse Cooper are expected to report back to council chiefs on the scheme in September.

It is thought the cost of the project will be funded by a combination of money made from the sale of the Water Place land, £500,000 from the recent sale of rare books owned by the council and a capital contribution from the local authority and private sector partners.

Talks are also taking place with Serco, which runs the borough's leisure centres, on the role it could play in the scheme.

The proposals are designed to fit in with plans to create a new multi-million pound college near the Deane campus for students studying at Bolton Community College and the north campus of Bolton Sixth Form college, currently based at Smithills School.

It would also tie in with the council's hopes to create a cultural quarter at the Western end of the town centre in and around Le Mans Crescent.

Karyn Brinkley, Pro-vice chancellor at the University of Bolton, believes the project offers a number of major opportunities for the institution.

She said: "The university is always looking to develop the offer for its students and a development on this site would fit in nicely into the university's sports rehabilitation programme and the wider area of health provision.

The other plans for the area should also help to boost the demand."

Keith Davies, assistant director of Education and Culture at the council, added: "We now have a number of components in place. The consultants will come back to us with the costs and a decision will be taken from there."