OXFORD City Council has earmarked £90,000 to turn Barton Pool into a "mini leisure centre".

Oxford City Council's deputy leader David Rundle said the plan would attract more people to the pool in Waynflete Road, which was opened less than two years ago.

He said: "It is an excellent new facility which has built up a loyal following, but what we want to do is make it all the more popular.

"We see this as an excellent way of encouraging large numbers of people to go to the pool and extend the services it could provide."

Mr Rundle added the new gym would be branded with the Oxford Aspires logo found at other city council-run sports facilities and would include similar equipment.

Currently the nearest city council-run gyms to Barton are Ferry Sports Centre and Temple Cowley Pool, several miles away. Patrick Murray, Lib Dem city councillor for Barton, added: "We hope it will boost income from the Barton Pool. It will turn it into more of a mini-leisure centre and will definitely get more people through the doors and be good for the community. It's all on the up in Barton."

Mr Murray added he hoped the new gym could be up and running by the summer.

The £2.8m pool was opened in Barton in April 2006. It attracted more than 30,000 visitors during its first 12 months - of which 80 per cent were under 17s who were eligible to swim for free.

The Liberal Democrats, who run the city council as a minority group, have ring-fenced the money in their draft budget. A final decision is due to be made on Monday, February 25.

No one from the opposition Labour group was available to comment on whether they would support the proposal.