BOSSES at Darlington's busy Dolphin Centre have insisted it is still open for business – despite the swimming pool being drained at the start of a £2.7m refurbishment programme .

Refurbishment work will be carried out in and around the pool area over the next four months, with the pool due to reopen in early January.

It closed for business on August 28 and scaffolding is expected to be installed in the empty pool over the next fortnight.

'Back of house' systems, such as plant machinery and air filtration systems, some of which date back to the 1980s, are being renewed as part of the works.

A report to members of Darlington Borough Council earlier this year warned that some of the mechanical and electrical systems were at risk of 'catastrophic failure' if nothing was done.

Centre users will notice a temporary works compound being erected outside the front doors of the centre during this week.

The windows to the pool area have been screened off, with 'peepholes' allowing curious customers to keep an eye on what is happening.

Centre manager Mike Crawshaw said: "From Monday, the preliminary works will ratchet up a level, we will then start to have lots more contractors on site and they will start the process of stripping out the plant that runs the full length of the ceiling in the pool hall.

"That scaffold build will be a major piece of work over the next two weeks, to enable a lot of the heavy work to take place on the ceiling."

Mr Crawshaw said the contractor had given assurances that the pool surface would not be damaged during the works.

He added: "The centre is still extremely busy, there's lots still going on in terms of dry activities, so we are still very much open for business."