Newham Council has announced that it will consult with local residents over plans for a new facility on the site of Stratford's Atherton Leisure Centre, which is to shut on 31 December.

It is expected that a full public consultation will get underway in mid-November to help shape plans for the new facility, which will be built on the Atherton site.

The council agreed to close the centre, which is sited less than a mile from the Olympic Park, due to increasing costs relating to the ceiling over its main swimming pool.

According to Newham Council, it is estimated that it would cost more than £2.2m in keeping Atherton Leisure Centre fully maintained over the coming ten years.

The main swimming pool has been closed since May in order to undergo repair work to the ceiling, although initial cost estimates of £85,000 have since risen to £250,000.

Newham mayor Sir Robin Wales said: "We are committed to providing a new facility with a pool as quickly as possible and we want people to have a say in what else might go in it.

"We would like to have kept the centre open while we look at all the options but we simply cannot afford to do that. It would be foolish and a complete waste of money."

A Newham Council spokesperson added: "The council had to decide between continually repairing a centre that was increasingly expensive and out of date, or investing in a modern centre for the future.

"We have therefore decided to build a new centre with a pool on this site. We will ensure that, unlike the current centre, it is fully accessible for all residents and users."