Long-awaited plans are being drawn up to replace a Birmingham public swimming pool which was demolished more than a decade ago.

Council chiefs are hopeful a new sports and leisure complex could open on or near Monument Road in Ladywood by the end of next year.

Residents living in the Edgbaston and Ladywood areas were promised replacement facilities for Monument Road baths when they were closed in the early 1980s.

But last week city leisure chief Coun John Alden instructed council officers to draw up new plans after he said he was "fed up with 15 years of procrastination".

Council officers have been told to come back with proposals for a new sports and leisure complex in Ladywood which would include a 25-metre swimming pool, a learners' pool and five badminton courts.

The plans will be funded with cash from the sale of the run-down Ladywood Arts and Leisure Centre, which is being demolished as part of the framework setting out the planned transformation of Edgbaston Reservoir and Icknield Port Loop.

The plan is aimed at boosting Birmingham's chances of producing world-class sportsmen and women and raising the city's profile as a destination for teams looking for bases in the UK during London's Olympic Games in 2012.

Coun Alden (Con Harborne), the city council's cabinet member for leisure, sport and culture, said: "This is part of our strategy to provide sports facilities for the city's future Olympians and for Olympic teams who might want to base themselves in Birmingham for the 2012 Games."

He said the 120 staff who work at the arts and leisure centre would be relocated elsewhere.

Council officers have been given until the end of this week to present plans for a new sports facility to Coun Alden.

He will then hold a meeting with the council's cabinet member for regeneration, Ken Hardeman (Con Brandwood), and strategic director of development David Pywell on

February 7, when the plans will be discussed in detail.

Coun Alden said: "I am hoping to be able to make a decision after that meeting and then submit the plans to the cabinet for approval.

"I am fed up with the procrastination of the last 15 years. We desperately need more swimming facilities."

The plans could be given the go-ahead in June if they are considered feasible. A tendering process would then take place and the new complex could be built by the end of next year. The arts and leisure centre would not be demolished for another two years.

Plans for a new swimming baths in Ladywood have been backed by a massive community campaign, which has also enlisted support from former

Great Britain swimmer Marie Hardiman, who competed at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996.

Last week The Birmingham Post revealed the council was exploring the possibility of entering into a joint partner-ship with Aston University to build a 50-metre pool.

An Olympic Task Force has been set up by the city council and is charged with securing valuable spin-offs from the 2012 Games.

The Chinese team has already visited Birmingham and expressed interest in basing itself in the city during the Games. However, the council is also exploring possibilities that other countries may base themselves in the Midlands.