CONTROVERSIAL £25million plans for Riverside Ice and Leisure Centre have been voted through by Chelmsford City Council.

More than 40 members of the council voted to support provisional plans, which include a ten-lane, 25m pool, sensory and specialist equipment for the disabled and 300 spectator seats – but no diving board facilities or outdoor pool.

Angry members of the public, who included members of the diving club and scuba diving group, shouted comments such as “hang your heads in shame”, and several were asked to leave during the Civic Centre meeting last week.

Four Liberal Democrat councillors, including Stephen Robinson and Jude Deakins, proposed an amendment urging the council to consider partnering with voluntary and commercial sectors in order to deliveradiving and outdoor pool, but this was refused.

When Councillor Ray Ride was approached by the Weekly News following the meeting he said including diving facilities in the Riverside plans would cost up to £4million.

He said: “This cost cannot be justified, balancing the limited number of users, the capital cost, long-term support, staffing and maintenance costs.

“The capital cost alone equates to approximately £160,000 per diving club member.

!It’s not within the principles of the city council to support a limited participation group to this level when we can support residents in other ways and where high-quality alternatives are available regionally.

“A consultation and engagement programme will be launched in the next two weeks encompassing residents, staff and specialist users of the Riverside Centre to gather opinion and a voice from all sides of the community.”

But he added the council hoped to run a diving programme for youngsters and was confident it could provide a resource for the sub-aqua, water polo and synchronised swimming groups with a 2m pool.

A design team will now be commissioned, at a cost of £500,000, to take the plans to the planning application stage and the council hopes, if approved, the centre will open in February 2018.