TROWBRIDGE councillors say they will hold Wiltshire Council’s feet to the fire to ensure that the town gets the swimming pool it was promised years ago.

At Tuesday’s policy and resources meeting, town clerk Lance Allan had recommended that the town council welcomed the proposals to have a new health centre, leisure facility, shops and restaurants built on the East Wing site in Bythesea Road.

However angry councillors said they needed to put pressure on Wiltshire Council as in 2010 the authority promised that a swimming pool would be up and running by the summer of 2017.

Cllr Steve Oldrieve said: “Wiltshire Council are not providing facilities this growing town needs. The town is crying out for this. I think the pool has been too easily dismissed as they say we cannot afford it but this is Wiltshire’s county town.

“We need something to bring people into the town centre. If you bring all these things to one spot, you have the making of a town centre for the future. This could be 25 years of investment so spending £12m or more is worth it. It get so annoyed when I hear ‘we can do it later’. We all know what that means - nothing.”

Last month, a meeting between Wiltshire Council and the Trowbridge Area Board campus working group revealed that a swimming pool, which was originally planned to cost £20m eight years ago, was unlikely as it appeared the authority could not bankroll the project.

Cllr Peter Fuller said: “We have had the rug pulled away from us. The town needs this.”

Cllr Graham Payne added: “Wiltshire Council are not considering the wellbeing of the town.”

Councillors agreed to send a proposal to Wiltshire Council urging it to include the swimming pool in the plans.