Top Notch Health Club in Chesham will soon feature a £500,000 underground swimming pool.

General practitioners will be able to refer patients with disabilities to the new facility for fitness and rehabilitation sessions.

Chiltern District Council approved the plans, submitted for the third time, by six votes to two. The previous two applications were rejected owing to concerns over Green Belt land and a lack of car parking spaces.

The business manager of the club, Iain Duncan, told Leisure Opportunities: "We are delighted by the planning committee's decision to allow the basement swimming pool. This enables us to improve the club long term for the benefit of our existing members and the local community.

"The swimming pool will have full disabled access and will allow us to provide a full range of water-based rehabilitation facilities alongside the existing fitness and rehabilitation services we already offer.

"We fully appreciate the benefits of getting young people involved in exercise from a young age and therefore we will also be planning programmes and activities tailored to a younger audience.

"We look forward to improving the club and making a significant difference to the lives of those people who live and work in Chesham and the surrounding areas."