DELAYING the construction of Ringwood's new pool, Aquanation, is "frustrating" and "short-sighted", says the president of Ringwood Pool Action Group.
Peter Morrissey said he had no choice now but to feel negative about the future of the new aquatic centre.
"Originally, we wanted to refurbish the old Ringwood pool. But when the decision was made for a new facility, it was better to support it," he said.
"We were told the project was fully viable and fully funded. That is clearly not the case.
"The facts are we didn't get approved for the first round of federal funding. I can't see that changing. What are they going to do then?"
Mr Morrissey said the decision meant locals were left out in the cold.
"By putting it off they're forgetting about the pool users themselves. Not one councillor has approached me as president of RPAG and I'm disgusted at being treated like that. It's a short-sighted group of individuals who have come down with a short-sighted decision."
He said it was extremely worrying that the council would "reconsider the scope of the project" if federal funding was not assured.
"There was a fear that when the old pool was demolished, it wouldn't be reconstructed. That's actually looking like a possibility now," he said.
Mr Morrissey said he had no problem with renaming the centre Aquanation.
"I'm happy for it to be anything," he said.
"[It's better to] let the marketing people look at things like that — they're the professionals.
"I'm happy to support it; I'm not precious about that."