It was originally anticipated that repair and refurbishment work to the council-owned pool would finally be finished by April. But a newsletter sent to pool users who are members of the leisure scheme Highlife, says it is now planned to open the pool in May.

This further delay is likely to anger local people, already highly critical of the time it has taken to reopen the pool. Highland Council has also been accused of dragging its feet over putting out to tender the second stage of the works required.

According to the newsletter – the first to be distributed – remedial work costing £250,000 was completed in May last year. This included the removal of the pool walkway and its replacement, the retiling of the pool tank and also of the pool hall.

Says the newsletter: "A considerable amount of structural work has been done to the building which is not visible to the eye. This was necessary because, as work progressed, a number of issues arose with regard to the structure of the facility and therefore the estimated finish date had to be put back."

Meanwhile a second phase of works at an estimated cost of £800,000, started in mid-September last year, and is still under way. This work is to make the pool compliant with the Disability Discrimination Act.

The newsletter states that the reception, coffee room, staff room and toilets have all been replaced with a new layout. The changing rooms have been revamped and the fitness suite extended to provide space for a range of state-of-the-art equipment such as treadmills, elliptical trainers, rowing machines and bikes.

Golspie Community Coun-cil chairman Ian Miller commented: "It has been a long wait to have the pool reopened, but I believe that the delay will soon be forgotten provided the refurbished facility meets the expectations of users.

"As long as we get what we want in the end, that's really all that matters."

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