West Norfolk Council has hit back at a petition calling for it to be more “ambitious” with the swimming pool revamp in Lynn.

Former competitive swimmer Nathan Wells is calling on the authority to rethink its proposals for the new facility, which will be constructed at Lynnsport as the existing St James centre is reaching the end of its life.

At the heart of his petition is a belief that the new pool at Lynnsport will be too small, while Mr Wells also claimed it will only have a 15-year lifespan.

However, the council has confirmed that the new pool will have a lifespan of 30-40 years.

Cllr Simon Ring, deputy leader of the council, said: “St James Pool is coming to end of its economic life and we are proposing a major investment in sports and leisure facilities at Lynnsport including a brand new modern multi-million-pound swimming facility, suitable for learning to swim, galas, casual swim, aqua aerobics and much else.

“Whilst I can understand why some competitive swimmers see this as an opportunity to ask for a super-sized main pool with extra lanes, this is a municipal facility for our whole community, backed with public money, and we need to ensure the plans are financially sustainable to run for decades to come and also meet everyone’s health and wellbeing needs.

“Public funding and the physical space available is limited and we need to look at local usage data, trends, affordability and cost-benefit analysis of everything we do.

“Following advice from Sport England around projected demand and growth, the proposed pool format at Lynnsport provides an additional 120 metres squared of much-needed water space.”

Cllr Ring added: “Crucially the new learner pool will have a flexible moveable floor and will be more than double the capacity of the current one.

“Four leisure lanes at 20 metres will provide an accessible and enjoyable lane swimming experience for all swimmers, meaning the 25m main pool will have increased availability for more experienced and competitive swimmers, allow the swimming club to grow as well as providing additional space and time for community and health programmes.

“There will also be significantly more water space for our invaluable learn to swim programme, which teaches young people and adults life-saving skills.”

Mr Wells is urging the council to consider a 50-metre pool, or an eight-lane, 25-metre pool.

So far, his petition gas garnered just shy of 350 signatures.