AN Olympian is being urged to dive in at the 11th hour and save a much-loved swimming pool from the bulldozers.

Councillors in Pitsea and Vange wrote to Lord Seb Coe urging him to back their campaign to save the Pitsea pool. It came before councillors met last night to discuss the future of the pool. In the end, they decided to shut it down to make way for the Pitsea regeneration scheme.

However, the councillors remain determined to stop the plan and have also written to sports minister Hugh Robertson asking for support.

Labour councillors Aidan McGurran, Gavin Callaghan and Byron Taylor claim in their letter the closure of Pitsea pool would force residents to shell out on buses to travel to the nearest pool at Basildon Sporting Village, in Gloucester Park, off Cranes Farm Road.

They also claim the Sporting Village pool is often closed to the public at short notice to host commercial events.

In an impassioned letter, the trio claimed closure of the pool would undermine the ability of Pitsea residents’ to stay physically fit.

They also argued it would not leave a fitting legacy for the town, as the country prepares to host the 2012 Olympic Games.

Mr McGurran, councillor for Pitsea South East, said: “The Pitsea pool is a vital community resource and we must do all we can to ensure it remains open.

“There are now more than 2,500 signatures on a petition calling on the council to save the pool and we hope residents’ voices are listened to.”

Mr Callaghan, ward councillor for Pitsea North West, added: “We decided to write to Lord Coe because we think shutting the pool in the Olympic year would render the games’ legacy somewhat of a sham for the people of Pitsea.”

Basildon’s development control and traffic management committee will vote on plans tonight to bulldoze the pool and the Aldi store, in Northlands Pavement, Pitsea, and replace them with a huge Morrisons supermarket, which it is claimed would create more than 500 jobs.

Under the plans, the Railway Hotel, which has stood empty since 2006, would also be demolished and Pitsea market moved to that site.

The proposals have met with stiff opposition from local swimmers and traders, who claim the changes would harm their business. The meeting takes place at the Basildon Centre, in St Martin’s Square, from 7pm.