COMMUNITY leaders who hope to see a swimming pool built at Hawes face an uphill struggle to convince Sport England to support the scheme to the tune of £370,000.

The £900,000 complex, which would serve the upper dales, would be built on land already secured behind the Dales countryside museum.

The project was launched in 1994 and local people have so far raised £20,000 - on top of £30,000 already raised to develop a football pitch.

It is hoped a further £400,000 will come from the European single regeneration budget, £30,000 from local authorities, £45,000 from local fundraising, and £60,000 from the rural development programme.

A bid for lottery cash to make up the £370,000 balance is currently being drawn up by consultants.

Coun John Blackie told Richmondshire economic, cultural and leisure committee that the area's small population would be a drawback as far as lottery funding was concerned.

"It will be an uphill battle to convince Sport England, which looks at how many people will use a facility before granting lottery money," he told the meeting at Hawes on Monday.

"In the upper dales in total we have 3,500 people, but the pool is vitally important to a large, very rural area."

There had been overwhelming support for a swimming pool in the town and a feasibility study showed it would make a small profit almost immediately.

The 20m x 8m pool would be staffed mainly by volunteers, although fully qualified lifeguards would patrol the poolside. The complex would also be available for children's parties and other community events