New sports facilities are set to be developed at Chilton Trinity School in Bridgwater, Somerset after the scheme was given the green light by the county council.

Revised proposals for a swimming pool and leisure centre were backed by Somerset County Council's (SCC) regulation committee as part of the £450m government Building Schools for the Future programme. The new 4,917sq m (52,926sq ft) facility will incorporate a 25m, six-lane swimming pool and a learner pool, spectator seating for 150 people, a 50-station fitness suite, a dance studio and a café.

An additional outdoor multi-use games area to complement an existing artificial turf pitch at the site also forms part of the proposals, which were originally turned down in November over traffic and access concerns. Sedgemoor District Council (SDC) has welcomed the decision to green light the scheme, which is due for completion in autumn 2012 and will also provide Bridgwater with a public pool for the first time since the Sedgemoor Splash facility was shut in August 2009.

Despite hoping to keep the Sedgemoor Splash open until the new pool at Chilton Trinity was completed, SDC decided against providing short-term investment to keep the existing venue open "in the interests of users and council tax payers".