A MULTI-MILLION pound swimming pool plan for Blackbird Leys has been welcomed by users of the estate's leisure centre.

But a campaign group battling to save a Cowley pool that would close as a result of the new plan branded it a “white elephant”.

Oxford City Council launched a three-week public consultation on the controversial £16.8m scheme yesterday, with plans displayed in its city sports centres.

It would include a 25-metre competition pool, learner pool and fun pool, and would be built next to Blackbird Leys Leisure Centre in Pegasus Road.

The plan would mean the controversial closure of Temple Cowley Pools, which would be sold to help finance the project.

The council says the Temple Cowley complex costs too much to run.

Blackbird Leys Parish Council chairman Gordon Roper said: “The plan is absolutely excellent – first class.

“It is something that Oxford needed. It is not just for Blackbird Leys, it is for all of Oxford and the county.

“It has been put in the right place.

"I can understand that nobody wants to lose a facility but it is not as if it is moving miles away. It is a mile-and-a-half down the road and there is a good bus service.”

But Jane Alexander, of the Save Temple Cowley Pools group, said “It does not make any sense financially or environmentally. It does not matter how bright or shiny it is, it is in the wrong place. It is a white elephant.”

She added: “Even if they get as many people as use Temple Cowley going to the new pool in Blackbird Leys, it still doesn't cater for those who cannot get there from Temple Cowley. That is 7,000 people."

Campaigners have collected 10,000 signatures calling for the pool to remain open, which leaders say would need a £3m cash injection.

The council consultation on the plans ends on Friday, December 17. A planning application is expected in January and, if approved, work could start next summer for an autumn 2012 opening.

This would also see the smaller Blackbird Leys pool by the leisure centre closed.