CAMPAIGNERS in Oxford say they have come up with a viable business plan to save a threatened leisure centre.
Oxford City Council is preparing to sell the Temple Cowley Pools site for housing once its new multi-million pound complex in Blackbird Leys is complete later this year.
But Save Temple Cowley Pools says it has a viable plan to keep the centre open.
Campaigner Nigel Gibson has told the Oxford Mail the group is preparing a bid for the site alongside a developer and housing association.
He refused to say who was involved with the bid for commercial reasons, but added: “Our calculations show that the whole thing is totally viable.”
The city council has previously said it wants £1.5m for the 1.3 acre site in Temple Road, Cowley.
The campaign group’s bid will involve the building of 30 flats around the centre.
Mr Gibson said: “What we are looking at is doing the necessary refurbishment to the pool to bring it back as that will bring in a continuous income.”
And he said the group would also offer the city council a slice of the profits, adding: “We don’t have any interest in making a huge profit in what we are doing. This is a community-led bid for the benefit of the community.
“And a way of benefiting from it is to make sure the public purse will get some return on that.
“Our view is this is not for a private group to make a profit, it is for the community to benefit from.”
The deadline for commercial bids for the site was Wednesday but Oxford City Council has extended it by a week.
Council spokeswoman Louisa Dean said the deadline had been relaxed to help the group.
She said: “We have agreed an extension to allow the community group who are preparing a bid to purchase the site, to be able to make a compliant submission.
“The deadline has been extended by one week to assist them.”
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