The latest closure of part of a town’s swimming pool has highlighted the “urgent need” to replace the leisure centre.

Dover District Council (DDC) announced the flume slide at Tides in Deal was closed to the public after a structural assessment found it was not safe for the public.

The attraction is set to remain closed until DDC completes investigating costs and “possible viable methods of replacement”, which is yet to be completed.

An assessment found there are “significant signs of wear on the stairwell which needs replacing” forcing it to shut at the end of April.

The site in Park Avenue was originally built as a leisure pool in 1987 but is now outdated and reaching the end of its design life.

It has been earmarked to be completely replaced, which is set to cost almost £35 million - a £9m increase on initial estimates.

But in November, a funding deficit for the extra cost of the project was announced leaving question marks over the development.

Despite this, the council says it has been “exploring alternative funding models with external partners”.

The authority has confirmed to KentOnline there have been no formal discussions with a developer about building a new site for DDC.

But it is also investigating other delivery models as part of the ongoing investigation.

The council says a report to cabinet members is due for discussion and consideration on July 1 to agree on how best and in what format the project can potentially move forward.

But Deal town councillor Peter Jull believes the redevelopment needs to take place “urgently” to prevent further costs.

“Tides is a valuable facility for Deal,” he said.

“It's been a while since it was acknowledged that the machinery inside the building needs to be repaired.

“The urgency is that everything that is spent on keeping it running is taking the money away from the replacement works.

“They need to get on with the replacement rather than repairing things.”

The mechanical electrical equipment needed for the site is regularly failing and there is a risk of permanent closure without investment.

The centre was extended in 2002 to include a sports hall and in 2011 an indoor tennis centre was added. Both remain in reasonable condition and one option is to only replace the pool.

Tides had been considered for redevelopment since 2020 but the pandemic initially stalled the plans.

Consultants later recommended that it was more cost-effective to have a new build for the pool rather than refurbish the existing one.

A spokesperson for DDC said it had secured additional grant funding to “support all operational running costs of the centre, including utilities, labour, repairs, maintenance, and others”.

They added: “It will be proportionally used as needed and released on a quarterly basis by the council.

“There were no other significant concerns identified within the structural report other than highlighting the need to continue to undertake regular inspections.

“The project costs are being updated and will be reported back to cabinet.”

Almost £50,000 has been secured through developer contributions - known as a Section 106 Agreement - from two developments in the district.

These are the land south of Cauldham Lane, Capel-Le-Ferne for 16 homes and the proposed rebuild of the former Royal Leisure Centre and cinema in King Street, Deal for 16 apartments and three retail units.