RESIDENTS on an Oxford estate will soon be able to have their say on plans for a community gym.

Oxford City Council has set aside more than £2m to improve the city’s leisure facilities, starting with expanding services at Barton pool.

The facility, which opened in 2007, currently has a four-lane swimming pool and an activity room for the use of the community.

The pool already offers free swimming sessions for under-17s and the over 60s, as part of a Government scheme for people to get fit and live healthier lifestyles In May, councillors rubber-stamped plans for Fusion Lifestyles, the trust which was awarded a 10-year contract to manage the council’s leisure facilities, to install a £90,000 gym above the pool, in Waynflete Road.

Next month, the eagerly anticipated proposals for the gym will go on display at the centre, and the community have been invited to have their say on them.

Pool general manager David Hunt welcomed the consultation.

He added: “Barton pool is a wonderful facility but has long needed a gym to offer a wider range of activities to the local community.

“Having a gym at the pool will provide an excellent fitness opportunities for all the residents of Barton and the surrounding area, and will enable us to create a broader programme for people to choose from.”

An open day and meeting for local residents will be held at the pool on Monday, November 16.

Once plans are finalised, building work could begin as early as March next year and families could be using the gym as early as July.

Bob Timbs, city council’executive board member for leisure and sport, said: “Our leisure centres have long been in need of redevelopment, which is why we made a commitment to invest an additional £2.12m to improve the city’s leisure facilities.

“These are very exciting projects, and we will be working closely with our leisure partners, Fusion Lifestyle, to deliver the facilities Oxford deserves.”

Barton resident Maureen Robertson, of Fettiplace Road, said the new gym would be a great asset to the community.

She said: “Everyone who I’ve spoken with think it’s a great idea.

“If people want to use the gym they have to go to Temple Cowley and Blackbird Leys.

This facility will mean they won’t have to travel as far.”