WOODBRIDGE'S swimming pool is set for a bumper birthday bash as it reaches a big birthday . . . a £548,000 revamp.Deben Pool will be 30 in the next year and to mark the special event will be able to celebrate a bright new look.

By Richard Cornwell

WOODBRIDGE'S swimming pool is set for a bumper birthday bash as it reaches a big birthday . . . a £548,000 revamp.

Deben Pool will be 30 in the next year and to mark the special event will be able to celebrate a bright new look.

Work is set to start on the scheme, which will provide modern changing rooms, a larger and refurbished health and fitness centre, and a more welcoming reception area, later this month.

The aim of the improvements is to make Woodbridge's main leisure facility, used by133,000 swimmers a year, even more customer-friendly.

The builders will be on site from October 14 but the pool will remain open for swimmers throughout the works, although unfortunately the fitness suite will be closed from November until January 2003. Work should be complete by June.

"This is an exciting time for Deben Pool with some much-needed and much-wanted improvements to a pool that first opened in 1973," said Maggy Wilson, cabinet member for culture and leisure.

"Our first priority was to make sure we could keep the pool open to all its regular users, which we can do thanks to some temporary changing rooms.

"From early in November, the gym will have to be closed for a couple of months but I hope that people will bear with us during the inconvenience which we have tried to keep to a minimum.

"We listened to what the pool's users have said and we will soon have changing rooms which are warm, attractive, clean, smell fresh, don't have puddles of water, and do have working showers. The Health and Fitness Centre will also be made bigger and better so even more people can make use of it.

"These works will make Deben Pool more attractive and more welcoming for everyone, especially those people with disabilities who will be able to enjoy much easier access and changing rooms."