Hope for Elephant but pool could be demolished

PLANS to demolish the grade II listed swimming pool attached to the Elephant leisure centre in Coventry city centre could be approved by the end of the year.

- By DAVID LAWRENCE

The building closed in 2020 and has been standing idle ever since at a cost of £400,000 each year.

But there is hope that the iconic Elephant building, with its legs straddling Cox Street, could be spared with talks ongoing between the city council and potential developers.

Cllr Jim O’Boyle, cabinet member for jobs, regeneration and climate change, spoke to us after an online petition calling for Coventry City Council to modernise and reopen the Elephant attracted 725 signatures.

“Signing petitions is easy but running things is difficult,” Cllr O’Boyle admitted. “The Elephant and the swimming pool were decommissioned for sporting use over ten years ago.