actually, and you wont like this, generally people want a swimming pool, but dont want either to pay what it would take in entrance fees to make it break even, or accept a rise in leisure costs from a council to subsidise it.

swimming can just be boring on its own, as you put it slides and gimmicks gets the young kids enjoying the water which in turn can develop confidence in the water,
I would like something similar to the metrodome but that's my preference

The problem is that the council have done the feasibility studies and found out that stand alone swimming pools don't make money whereas those incorporated into say a 'sports village' are more likely to. On the back of this they sanctioned the re-building of Sun Lane as a stand alone pool.

Still trying to get over my son saying that the black hole slide thing at Metrodome was "tame" - still trying to get the trunks back out of my !!!