LONG-AWAITED improvements to a Devon leisure centre will be completed before the council behind them ceases to exist.

That was the pledge from Teignbridge councillors as they agreed to bring the Dawlish Leisure Centre up to scratch.

The centre was built in 1974 and last upgraded in 1994. The gym will be expanded, exercise studios will be built and changing facilities upgraded.

A meeting of the full council heard it would be an investment of around £5 million on a centre which is currently costing more than £300,000 a year to keep running.

“The people of Dawlish have been promised this for years by other administrations,” said Cllr Rosie Dawson (Lib Dem, Dawlish NE).

“This is exactly what the town needs.”

She said the changing rooms were not fit for purpose, shower curtains failed to protect the dignity of people using them, surfaces were so old that they were hard to keep clean and lighting in the car park was inadequate.

“It rains inside when you’re swimming from the rusty overhead structure,” she said.

“We can’t keep promising things for residents and then stalling.”

The bulk of the money will come from the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL), which is money handed over by developers for projects in the areas where they are building homes.

Teignbridge Council will cease to exist in April 2028 as a result of local government reorganisation, and Dawlish will become part of a new expanded Exeter unitary authority.

Cllr David Palethorpe (Lib Dem, Ipplepen) said: “People in Dawlish pay their council tax, and our responsibility to them will continue until the final day this council exists.

“When this council ceases to exist, the residents will still be there and will still require services.”

He said the revamp of the leisure centre could be completed by February 2028.