The council fears publishing details about the poor condition of the King Alfred Leisure Centre could put people off going there.

Brighton and Hove City Council is planning to rebuild the leisure centre in Hove on its current site.

The Argus previously reported on complaints about its condition and cockroaches found on the premises.

A former member of staff, who wished to remain anonymous, said last year: “I have worked in other leisure centres and this is by far the worst I have seen.

“It is an unhygienic, old and decaying building that needs knocking down.”

After a group of seven Green and Conservative councillors challenged the council's decision to rebuild the leisure centre, the council published a response which included the admission that many people would stop using the King Alfred if they knew more about the issue.

It read: “Disclosure of the detailed information about the condition of the facility could also impact the council’s contracted leisure management operator Freedom Leisure.

“Disclosure could affect Freedom Leisure’s ability to attract and retain members at the existing facility, leading to fewer people using the centre, and therefore affecting income and the financial viability of the centre.”

The report included new information about seawater flooding on the premises - which resulted in the closure of the pools and the loss of all heating for three months last year.

At the time the council and centre operator Freedom Leisure stated the issues were with the boiler’s heating panel – no flooding was mentioned.

The opposition's challenge will be considered at a special scrutiny meeting on Monday.

Among the opposition councillors’ concerns were that the case for refurbishing the existing leisure centre King Alfred assumed just a 10-year-life span.