The pool will be built on the site of a former leisure centre

The �12m facility will be built at Picton Leisure Centre, Wavertree, and will be one of a handful in the UK.

Members of Liverpool City Council's executive committee backed the plans at a meeting on Friday.

Olympic medallist Stephen Parry, of Allerton in the city, who used to travel 100 miles a day to train, said the pool will remove such "hassle".

The 50m pool is being funded by the city council and Sport England.

Stephen Parry had to move to Manchester to train

It will mean the revival of the Picton site, which closed two years ago because of structural problems.

A 20m and four-lane training pool, as well as a 400-seater spectator arena, will also be built, and the changing rooms will be refurbished.

Mike Storey, leader of Liverpool City Council, said: "This will be a valuable facility not just for our own elite swimmers, but also the local community including recreational groups, mothers and toddlers and schools.

"It will also be used by up-and-coming junior swimmers who are rising through the ranks and are potential Olympic and Commonwealth medal winners of the future."

Butterfly bronze

Stephen Parry, who won a bronze medal in the Athens Olympics butterfly and a silver and bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games in Manchester in 2002, moved to Manchester to be closer to Stockport where he trains.

He said: "Liverpool has a strong tradition of producing fine sportsmen and women, and the 50m pool will mean the swimming stars of the future will be able to train locally without facing the additional hassle of having to travel in order to train."

The pool is expected to be finished in 2006.