THREE prospective sites for a new £40m secondary school in Poole have now been whittled down to one following a meeting of Borough of Poole's cabinet last night.

Andrew Flockhart, pictured, interim chief executive at Borough of Poole, told members in a report: “There is a proven need for additional secondary school places in Poole.

“Until a strategy for secondary school places is agreed, the Bournemouth and Poole College site remains a potential site for a possible new secondary school.”

The latest report to go before Borough of Poole’s cabinet sought to drop the Dolphin Road Swimming Pool and the 350-space Kingland Road pay and display car park site from the mix.

The report said the ageing leisure centre may require £1.4 million for maintenance over 10 years and while a new one could be built on the site, it could not be accommodated in full, leaving a shortfall in provision.

The agreement with SLM to manage the leisure centre, along with two others in the town, ends in May 2016.

“There is a risk that continued uncertainty about the use of the site to construct a school might result in the closure of the pool from May 2016,” the report said.

Last night Borough of Poole cabinet members agreed that the Dolphin Swimming Pool option was not to be taken forward as a possible site for a new secondary school for the town.

Along with expanding existing schools, originally a site in Creekmoor was considered, but was removed due to being heavily constrained by planning policy and services infrastructure.

The council had originally announced that due to increased births, migration and housing development, and based on current projections, the town could need an extra 300 places per year between 2018 and 2022.