A MULTI-MILLION pound pool to replace the boarded-up Water Place may be built on the site of the old Sainsbury's supermarket in Bolton town centre.

It is understood Bolton Council -- which owns the land -- is one of four organisations which has shown interest in snapping up the large plot.

For earlier reports on the closure click HERE

If it is successful it would mean the new baths being built just yards away from the old £5 million Water Place with its water chutes and fun pool, which is soon to be bulldozed.

Sainsbury's is moving across the road from Flash Street to Crook Street where an 80,000 sq ft store costing £12 million is being built.

The old building is on a prime site, close to Moor Lane Bus Station. Sainsbury's originally wanted to retain ownership of the building and let it out to other companies.

But it now appears a large cash offer for the building is likely to be accepted.

Bolton Council would use the money it gains from the sale of the Water Place -- now believed to be worth more than £2 million -- to finance the building of the new 25 metre pool.

Other possible sites for a pool being considered by council chiefs include Queen's Park and Moss Bank Park, both also Council-owned.

Planners decided not to build on the Water Place site because they believed it would have made selling the remainder of the large plot of land more difficult.

But so far the local authority, which has opened talks with Sport England about plans for a new pool, is keeping tight-lipped about the proposals.

Keith Davies, deputy director of the town's education and culture department, would only say: "All appropriate sites are being considered."

Other bidders for the Sainsbury's building are understood to include a prominent nightclub owner and two retail companies. Plans could even see the supermarket split in two to accommodate two companies.

The old Sainsbury's opened in 1989. It is due to close when the new store opens on March 27.

It will double the size of the existing workforce and create more than 200 new full and part-time jobs. It will also have a petrol filling station.

Work began on the new Sainsbury's supermarket in September and it forms part of a £100 million investment project by the supermarket company in the North-west.

A council spokesman said: "There has been a lot of talk about using the Sainsbury's site. The council is under pressure to build a new pool and they believe the old supermarket would be ideal especially because it will become empty very soon and is in such a prominent location."

The council decided to close the Water Place after being told it needed £4.5 million of repairs -- money the council said it could not afford. The complex opened in 1988, but a recent report said the number of users had dropped and maintenance bills had risen.

A private company will run Bolton's remaining leisure centres under council control.

A spokesman for Sainsbury's said: "We are looking at ways the building can be used."