A SWIMMING pool is to be built in Leigh - 30 years after the town's old baths were closed.

A 25-metre pool will be included in the Leigh Sports Village complex at Pennington and could be open as early as January 2007.

As part of radical leisure plans for the area, Leigh will become only the second town in Britain to provide free swimming for all children under 16.

The Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust has set out a five to 10 year programme of investment to transform council services to meet the demands of modern life.

The multi-million pound strategy, called "Getting Wigan Active", will encourage greater use of council facilities and should reinvigorate cultural life in the area.

Leigh's new public pool will replace Atherton Baths and, eventually, Tyldesley Baths.

It is proposed that Atherton Baths in Mayfield Street will close by Christmas, with Tyldesley to be axed by January 2007. Existing users will be able to use Howe Bridge Sports Centre or the new pool at Leigh.

The £100,000 saving made by the closure of Atherton Baths will be used to fund free swimming for all under-16s, starting next April.

Leigh's old public baths in Silk Street closed in 1977 as part of a cost-cutting measure.

Trevor Barton, a member of the leisure and culture trust, said: "I'm delighted to see the plans for a 25-metre pool at Leigh Sports Village.

"During our lengthy consultation with residents, we found that this was the missing element that most people wanted.

"Leigh has been without a swimming pool for 30 years and it will be the icing on the cake as far as the Sports Village is concerned.

"Free swimming for everyone up to the age of 16 is also very welcome. We would be only the second town in the country to do this and it would be a major step towards tackling child obesity."