So Oxford won't be getting an Olympic-style swimming pool after all. What a surprise.

We thought when the idea was first mooted that it was pie-in-the-sky. And so it has proved.

The city council has realised that it can't possibly find the money for such an ambitious project.

Given its record on providing swimming pools, the news hardly comes as a shock.

Councillors argued for years over what to do with the ailing Hinksey Pools, before finally deciding to invest in them.

There has also been a lot of dither over Temple Cowley, which has been allowed to run down so much that it is in a disgraceful state.

There is now a big question mark over whether this pool, the only competitive-sized one in Oxford, will survive.

Swimming enthusiasts must be near despair.

In a city dominated by waterways, and at a time when people have more leisure time than ever, it is a scandal that swimming has been given such low priority by our Town Hall masters.

As with other issues, we get a lot of talk, but not much action.