Plans to redevelop a popular leisure centre are set to still go ahead despite a near £9 million deficit for the project.

Councillors at Dover District Council have agreed to pay another £20,000 of taxpayers’ money for the much-demanded Tides Leisure Centre scheme in Deal.

But they also agreed to ask officers to find other sources of funding to plug the rest of the gap, such as from private enterprise.

An officers’ report said costs have soared because of high inflation, raised interest rates and uncertainty in the energy markets.

Roger Walton, strategic director for place and environment, told DDC’s cabinet on Monday night: “We need to explore all possible ways to get this across the line.

“The financial pressures are laid out starkly in the report and that isn’t anywhere any of us want to be.

“We have a duty to try to explore whether there are any other ways, any other funding streams, any private sector partnerships that might enable the project.

“The need is out there, we know the building is ageing, we know those facilities increasingly don’t meet the needs of our local community.”

Tides, in Park Avenue, was originally built as a leisure pool in 1987 but is now outdated and reaching the end of its design life.

The mechanical electrical equipment needed for it is regularly failing and there is a risk of permanent closure without investment.

The centre was extended in 2002 to include a sports hall and in 2011 for an indoor tennis centre. Both remain in reasonable condition and one option is to simply replace the pool.

But the project cost, calculated at £24.8 million in July 2022, was found to have reached £26,686,712 by last September.

By then costs added up to a total capital deficit of £8,959,161 to replace the pool.

But improvements to the dry areas as well would push up the cost to £34,869,212.

Cllr Charlotte Zosseder (Lab) said: “It’s a project that is really key for all of us, we all want it to succeed.”

Cllr Susan Beer (Lab), a Deal ward member, said: “The people of Deal are absolutely determined that they need these swimming facilities, not just for families.

“Also schools need them for space to learn swimming so it is absolutely essential that we get this done if we can.

“People are still asking why hasn’t this started, why are we not knocking down the old building yet.”

DDC deputy leader Jamie Pout (Lab) said: “While it’s for the people of Deal it will also serve an area wider than that, including Sandwich and Aylesham. This is a need for everyone.”

Tides had been considered for redevelopment since 2020 but the pandemic initially stalled the plans.

Consultants later recommended that it was more cost effective to have a new build for the pool rather than refurbish the existing one.