Urgent repairs to leisure centres in Castle Point could cost up to £2 million, it was revealed today.

A consultants' report into the future of Runnymede Pool in Benfleet and Waterside Farm on Canvey revealed that the cash injection will be needed to maintain buildings and equipment.

Tory leader Doug Roberts insisted the works would need to be undertaken in the next two years, a claim disputed by Labour council leaders.

Leisure and amenities chairman, councillor Dave Blackwell stressed: "As a responsible council, we have sought to highlight works which need to be done on our sports centres.

"We have put together a five-year plan to ensure their survival, more than the Tories have ever done."

However, Mr Roberts launched an attack on the Labour administration and insisted that the borough's leisure services committee should have been made aware of the full implications of the report immediately.

He added: "Instead, the committee was told that it needed to spend £59,000 as a priority selected by leading members of the Labour group who met in secret with officers to discuss the report.

"Nowhere in the committee report did it mention anything like £2million being needed to be spent over the next two years.

"What we have now is a major refurbishment project with loss of revenue while works go on or to build a brand new leisure centre and once completed and open, to demolish the old buildings.

"The council simply doesn't have the sort of money needed."

Today, Mr Blackwell hit back at the Tory claims. He insisted £59,000 would be spent over the next year on priority works, and stressed that the £2million to be ploughed into a revamp of the centres would take place over the next five years.

Mr Blackwell said: "Mr Roberts has accused the council of not looking after the borough's assets. I find this unbelievable.

He and his Tories were in power for 20 years and sold off most of the assets and allowed the rest to run down.

"They had no planned maintenance for the sports centres because they squandered all available funds on the new council office and have left this Labour council with a huge debt."

Council leader Dave Wells added: "We have had to rebuild the borough after it was destroyed by the £2.4 million deficit left by the Tories.

"Dave does an excellent job as chair of leisure services and I find it unbelievable hypocrisy on the part of the Tories to criticise him."

Mr Roberts has now called for an urgent meeting to consider the report and has suggested that the council looks at joining forces with outside organisations specialising in council-run leisure centres.

He added: "We should invite them in to talk to us about partnering with us so that we can retain our centres.

"Runnymede Pool could be excluded from this because the work required there is one of maintenance and upgrading of services rather than wholesale replacement."

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.