CREDITON Town Council has backed replacing the paddling pool in Newcombes Meadow instead of swapping it for a splash pad due to fears of high running costs.

The town council had been considering four options for the pool, which is nearing the end of its operational life.

An “enhanced” splash pad was the most popular option in a survey in July, with replacing the pool like-for-like the second preferred option. The other two options were a smaller splash pad and removing the paddling pool altogether.

Mid Devon District Council owns Newcombes Meadow and the pool within it but wants the town council to contribute to its replacement and maintenance costs.

There have also been talks around transferring the ownership to Crediton Town Council as the district council would soon cease to exist under now-paused local government reorganisation plans.

At a meeting on Tuesday, September 15, town councillors voted to replace the pool and also install a new toilet block nearby.

Cllr Liz Brookes-Hocking said there were “no definitive figures” on maintenance costs and water use for the splash pad idea, as only larger local authorities operate them and tend to run them together with leisure centres, making pinning down their true ongoing cost difficult.

Replacing the paddling pool like-for-like would cost £461,000 and £15,600 to run each year (excluding water pipe upgrades and planning permission and ongoing maintenance funding yet to be agreed), according to a report to the town council.

In terms of funding, £154,877.95 of time-limited S106 money (from developers) is available for the project. Crediton Town Council would contribute £125,000 and Mid Devon District Council the same amount. In total, the amount available is just under £405,000.

This would mean an approximate additional cost to band D council taxpayers of roughly £5.52 per year.