A popular but ageing swimming pool has now closed ahead of a huge £20 million renovation project.

Families can no longer visit the pool at Tides Leisure Centre in Deal, which is empty after being drained of water.

The closure of the swimming pool, which included a wave machine and slides, came two weeks early, as the site was expected to close at the end of this month.

The dry facilities – such as the gym and tennis courts – at the site in Park Avenue remain open to users, although the gym is also temporarily shut while it is being relocated.

It will close tomorrow to Friday and then reopen on Saturday (March 29) in the tennis centre in a self-contained new-build area.

The multimillion-pound renovation project for Tides will take two years, with a six-lane pool planned as well as a new gym and toddler splash pad.

The project is expected to be completed in the summer of 2027.

Previously, Labour-led Dover District Council (DDC) planned to close the whole of Tides from April 1 as the lease for the current operator, Your Leisure (YL), was due to end.

But it was met with backlash from residents who regularly use the site, with more than 1,100 people signing a petition against the move.

The council then agreed to “review all options” when the decision was “called in” by the authority’s Conservative group.

Following a special cabinet meeting in February, DDC voted through a new option to appoint Your Leisure as the interim operator of the sports hall and tennis centre at the site for the next 12 months.

It means that only the pool is out of action to visitors ahead of the £20 million renovation project.

Clubs this paper spoke to after the u-turn, including East Kent Acro Gymnastics Club, were delighted, as it means they can carry on as usual in the sports hall.

Cllr Chris Vinson (Con), deputy leader of DDC’s Tory group, said: “Local residents will warmly welcome steps to keep the tennis centre and sports hall open, after a public outcry forced DDC’s cabinet to reverse their baffling decision to close the whole site with just a few weeks notice to the staff and many clubs and individuals that rely on these facilities.

“We’re all looking forward to the redevelopment of Tides, and support the delivery of plans developed over many years by the previous and current administration to breathe new life into this much loved asset serving Deal, Walmer and wider community.”

At a meeting on Monday, DDC’s cabinet is set to approve the interim operating plans for the centre from April 1.

“The pool closure has also given time for YL to provide an alternative gym offer that will be temporarily located in part of the Indoor Tennis Centre,” DDC’s report explains.

A future operator, which will run the pool, sports hall, gym and tennis centre and classes from summer 2027, is still to be chosen through a tendering process