A £1 million bid to extend a fitness and health suite has been approved by trustees.

South Oxfordshire District Council, acting as the trustees to the community trust fund, gave the go ahead on Thursday for £1,480,000 to provide the extended Health and Fitness Suite at Thame Sports and Arts Centre, Oxford Road.

The district council is working in partnership with Thame Town Council to extend the facilities at the centre.

It is paying for the cost of the new suite, while the town council is providing the capital cost of the Thame pool project, enabling a 25-metre, five-lane pool to be built and ready for August 2002.

Costs to improve the existing building will be shared.

The project is one of the first in the country to use the Partnering Project Contract 2000 which sees all parties working together.

Thame Town Council joined the contract in March 2001 and said the district council entering the partnership was welcomed.

Town clerk Pat Kingsnorth said: "This is really a positive approach indicating the district council's support and commitment for this exciting Thame project."

The grant will mean residents of the town and surrounding areas will have a superior fitness facilities and a pool, which town mayor Don Butler said has been needed since the 1940s.