TIME is running out to clinch a deal for York's swimming pools, the city's council leader has warned.

Steve Galloway warned his elected colleagues that a potential deal for the controversial Barbican development was "still on the table".

The leader was speaking after labour councillors launched a blistering attack on city chiefs for what they claimed was a "mismanagement" of the large-scale development.

Speaking at a full council meeting, he said a "misguided" legal challenge on the site meant residents could lose out on a "quality facility".

"The deal we had on the table 18 months ago was actually almost too good to be true," he said. "If everyone unites, we may still pull this deal off."

Opposition leisure and heritage spokesman Coun Dave Evans called on the council to "unambiguously commit" to full city centre swimming facilities at the Barbican while the lengthy wrangle surrounding the site was brought to a conclusion.

He said the housing development at the Barbican had increased from 146 flats to 240, while the specification for the swimming facilities had been reduced from a 25 metre pool with eight lanes with a second pool to a single 25 metre five lane pool with smaller 'toddler' swimming area.

Meanwhile, casual fitness users were not being offered adequate replacement facilities.

He said: "What are the people of York getting? At the same time as the flats have been growing, the pool has suffered from the opposite problem - it's ever shrinking."

Coun Janet Looker added: "We are now going into our second summer holiday with no swimming at the Barbican. I find it appalling.

"I don't think it was beyond the wit of man to have salvaged something from that, to have enabled residents to have some part-time swimming and fitness facilities."

But fuming Liberal Democrat leaders hit back at the claims, saying the previous Labour administration was to blame for the ongoing saga.

Lib Dem's Coun Christian Vassie said: "For Labour, it wasn't so much a case of Barbican, as Barbi-couldn't."

Leisure chief Keith Orrell said replacement fitness facilities at All Saints' School had been well publicised, and were a success.

He said 300 people were using the temporary facilities every month - which equated to ten a day.

Updated: 10:41 Thursday, July 28, 2005