Closing: The only council sports centre in Stratford

The council running the Olympic borough was today accused of letting down residents with its plans to close a leisure centre less than a mile from the 2012 Games aquatics centre.

Newham will shut Atherton Leisure Centre in Stratford at the end of the year because of rising maintenance costs.

The main swimming pool has been closed since May for roof repairs, which tripled in cost to £250,000 after asbestos was found.

Residents today hit out at the Labour-run council for approving the closure. Finance worker Michelle Turner, 40, a keen triathlete, said: "There is nowhere else for us to go. It is a complete disgrace that they plan to close the only council leisure centre in the heart of the Olympics in three months time."

Newham says the centre would cost £2.2million to maintain for the next decade. A replacement would cost between £11.5million and £19million, though no funds have been set aside for this.

Mayor Sir Robin Wales said: "We are committed to providing a new facility with a pool as quickly as possible. We would like to have kept the centre open while we look at all the options but we simply cannot afford to. We need to replace the leisure facility. Doing repairs is money down the drain."

Facilities at the centre, which is run by social enterprise GLL on the council's behalf, include a fitness centre, two pools and sports hall.

Classes and activities would transfer to other leisure centres, the nearest being Plaistow and East Ham.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport said the closure was disappointing, but added: "After the Games the people of east London will have access to seven world-class sports facilities on their doorstep.

"Sport England is investing £135million of public money into community sport."