PREPARATIONS are going swimmingly for the eagerly-awaited re-opening of Port Baths.

People will take will take the plunge on October 5 after a cash injection of £51,000 from Inverclyde Council.

There had been fierce opposition to Inverclyde Leisure's original plan to keep the facility closed until next Easter due to a lack of funds.

Councillor Ronnie Ahlfeld, Inverclyde Council's sports champion, says he is delighted the local authority has been able to step in to prevent that.

He said: "It's great news.

"There are some loyal and enthusiastic groups that would have been badly affected, and now they will be able to use the pool again.

"I think the council administration should be commended."

Council leader Stephen McCabe, who lodged the proposal for extra funding, said it was important for the pool to re-open despite financial headaches.

He said: "The key thing is, there is a demand for it.

"We had to prioritise that.

"We are facing huge funding challenges.

"We are keeping a running tally of the cost of the pandemic and so far it is over £6 million.

"This is another £51,000, but it is also important to get the pool open as well.

"Health and wellbeing is critically important."

Mr McCabe says he is hopeful the council will be able to receive extra support from the UK Government to help cover additional bills for the local leisure trust.

He said: "This is going to continue for quite some time and means Inverclyde Leisure will not receive the same amount of income as they did this time last year, due to the reduction of the number of people coming in to use the facilities.

"We may need to give them more money on an ongoing basis."

David McCorkindale, IL's head of facilities, said staff are hard at work to get the pool ready for next month.

He said: "There will be two lanes with a maximum of eight in each lane, 16 swimmers allowed per hour

"We are developing an app for booking but people can also call to make a booking or book after their swim.

"We will also be accommodating the groups who use the pool."

Meanwhile it has also been confirmed that the gym in the building will re-open on the same day as the pool.