An outdoor swimming pool in Portishead, Somerset, could be set to close after a local authority review panel said it was too expensive to run.

North Somerset Council will decide on the pool's future on 28 October, based on the findings of the review panel's report, which claimed the facility cost local taxpayers £16.50 per visit. The report argues that the level of subsidy provided by the council to keep Portishead Outdoor Swimming Pool open is no longer sustainable, and that visitor numbers were unlikely to exceed 8,000 for the season, which ended on 28 September.

Over a five month period, the review panel visited the pool a number of times, and conducted meetings with external organisations, including the Friends of Portishead Open Air Pool (FOPOAP), to see whether an independent trust could take over running the site. It was decided, however, that such an option would not be feasible due to lengthy set-up costs, as well as the likelihood that the council would need to continue subsidising future running costs.

Chair of the review panel, Elfan Ap Rees, said: "The panel has thoroughly examined all the options, but the fact is the use of the pool is highly weather dependent and is simply too expensive to operate for the few who use it." The panel's recommendation to shut the pool will now go to a joint scrutiny panel before being put to the council's executive for a final decision at the end of the month.