Canvey’s ageing Waterside Farm Leisure Centre could be replaced with a smart new facility, if the borough council accepts an offer from a leading construction firm.

Swedish builder Skanska wants to build a multimillion pound sports centre on the Somnes Avenue site, offering a 25-metre pool, plus covered outdoor football pitches among its attractions.

The exact nature of the company’s offer is unclear at present. Castle Point Council says it is looking at three options by which a centre might be funded.

Council leader Pam Challis said if the project could be financed, it would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Canvey. She said: “It is an exciting opportunity which could move our leisure facilities into the 21st century.

“We look forward to receiving the business plan, which we must ensure is viable, and we will then consult residents.”

The centre would replace a facility which was built in the Seventies and is in dire need of an overhaul. As well as the pool and football pitches, the new complex would feature a sports hall, fitness centre, cafe and creche.

The council is considering ways to pay for the new building. One would involve asking Skanska to build and run the centre.

Jeffrey Stanley, councillor responsible for finance, stressed the project was still, by no means, certain to go ahead.

He said: “We have to consider the cost of the project, but we decided to go public, so people could see we were acting as transparently as possible.

“We know Skanska is quite serious about this, but there still remain question marks over the suitability of the business case.”

The council will seek islanders’ views before deciding on the project, probably in the autumn.

If it went ahead, the new centre could well be finished in 2012.

While it considers Skanska’s offer, the council has put on hold a £1.3million refurbishment at Waterside Farm which had been due this summer.

Mr Stanley added: “We’ve been looking for a solution for Waterside for years and it’s like buses. You have one plan and then two come along at once.

“It would be foolish to go ahead with spending £1.3million when this proposal is out there.”

Barry Page, a teacher at Continuum School, Canvey, regularly takes pupils to Waterside Farm. He is concerned charges might be higher at a new leisure centre. He explained: “One way or another, the facilities are going to end up costing more and I want to know how much?

“If they start pushing prices up, people will stop using it.”