HOPES of a new Worcester swimming pool have passed their biggest milestone yet - after a majority of city politicians decided to back the ambitious plan.

During a tense vote at the Guildhall, a decision to press ahead for a £13.5 million “county standard” pool was backed by 25 of the city’s 35 councillors last night.

Seven from 13 Labour politicians present abstained, while the Green Party's Neil Laurenson voted against it, as did Liberal Democrat group deputy leader Councillor Ken Carpenter.

The decision means the authority, which is Tory controlled, can press ahead and aim for an eight-lane pool by hunting down the extra funding needed for it.

As your Worcester News first revealed in February, an independent report says the top-of-the-range pool is £5.2m short of being affordable.

Council chiefs have been given an alternative, known as option two, of building a six-lane non-county standard pool for £10.7 million, of which there is a £192,000 funding gap.

Both Coun Laurenson and Coun Carpenter cited fears over the funding as being reasons to scrap the project.

But the majority of politicians urged the authority to “aim high” and find ways of sourcing outside cash.

Councillor Roger Knight, a Conservative cabinet member, said: “People do say, is it the right time to be doing this.

“I say there is never a time when a venture on this size and scale will be easily obtainable, we are where we are and we’ve got to grasp the nettle.

“We’ve got to make it work.

“When Kennedy said he’d put a man on the moon he didn’t have a clue how he was going to do it, but there was a will to make it happen, and that’s what we need.”

Fellow Conservative Councillor Chris Mitchell said: “This is something the city is passionate about, the weight of the city is behind us and we’ve got to find ways of taking it forward.”

Coun Carpenter said it would have been “helpful” if the authority had decided to increase council tax during the last three years, instead of freezing it, in finding ways to fund the pool.

The comments drew nods from most Labour councillors, even those who ended up voting for the pool.

He warned against “servicing a new debt in the present climate” and said even the second option was not affordable.

Coun Laurenson cited fears over being able to fund other services at a time when local government funding was under attack from Whitehall.

He said: "I admire the council's ambition, it woud be fantastic to have a new pool and we all want the best for Worcester, but I wonder if we can afford it."

A report before the council said a scaled-down pool will be the “minimum specification”, but that option one is the preferred one.

Councillor Robert Rowden, a Conservative, said: "We cannot stand still on this, it is essential we move on."

Under the plan it will sit next to the current leisure centre site at Perdiswell, and be open in early 2016 once the current facility is demolished.

Both options would require loans, of either £7.7m or £10m, paid back over 40 years at a four per cent interest rate.

The pool at Sansome Walk will also demolished as part of the project.

The project is being spearheaded by Councillor Jabba Riaz, the cabinet member for safer and stronger communities.

At the moment council chiefs do not know how they will fund the £5.2m gap, but in recent weeks calls have been for the University of Worcester, county council and even NHS to contribute.

Talks have also taken place with the Amateur Swimming Association (ASA) about offering help.