Private companies could be brought in to run the district's crumbling swimming pools and leisure centres and inject desperately needed cash.

Bradford Council believes private investment or a leisure trust may be the only way to guarantee a bright future for its pools and sport centres.

Councillors will be told tomorrow that more than £6 million needs to be invested over the next five years to modernise pools and centres - and that investment can't be guaranteed out of the public purse.

Today the GMB union said it had "great concerns" about the plan.

Bradford Council's regeneration and culture scrutiny committee will consider recommending to the executive committee to put swimming pools at Bingley, Eccleshill, Ilkley, Queensbury, Shipley and Bowling into a leisure trust or setting up a partnership with a private company to run them.

Keighley Leisure Centre and the Richard Dunn Sports Centre would also be included if the plan went ahead.

But Manningham Pool would stay with the Council and if possible be replaced by a new West Bradford Pool.

A local partnership board could be considered for Manningham Sports Centre and councillors will examine the transfer of management at Horsfall Athletic Centre to local organisations.

The committee will be told that the future is uncertain for Rhodesway pool, Tong recreation centre and swimming pool, and Grange sports centre because they are owned by schools involved in private finance initiatives.

The possibility of a management partnership for Nab Wood Sports Centre which is owned by the school could be considered.

The move comes after the district's leisure facilities received only a "fair" one star rating from the Audit Commission in a report last year.

The Commission's inspectors said the service had "uncertain" prospects for improvement in its report.

They found a good range of provision and some attractive, modern facilities like Shipley pool.

But some buildings were poor and needed major refurbishment and access for disabled people was "very poor" at some centres.

The Commission inspectors will re-examine the service again this month and their findings will be reflected in the Council's comprehensive performance assessment later this year.

A bad inspection could hit the Council's place in the national local authority league table which rated Bradford "good " this year.

Partnership with private companies could result in an arrangement similar to the Council's set up with Education Bradford to run the Council's education services.

The non-profit making leisure trusts would have access to funding sources which are not available to councils who have heavy legal restrictions.

The radical options will be considered by the committee which is carrying out a best value review on the service.

Unions have been consulted because of possible implications to staff, depending on the final choice for delivering the service.

The Council is the district's biggest sports and leisure provider, managing 21 venues which attract about two million visitors a year.

But Gill Dixon, acting director of scrutiny and performance management, will tell members funding is a national problem for local authority sport and leisure services and now 316 leisure centre or swimming pools are managed by private organisations and 430 by 54 leisure trusts.

Private finance initiatives for the district's schools will result in some existing facilities being replaced by new ones which the schools may wish to run, however.

Scrutiny committee chairman Councillor Andy Mudd said: "We will be looking at options very closely. If it can be demonstrated a trust would improve services it might be justified or it might not."

Conservative executive member for the environment Councillor Anne Hawkesworth said: "A leisure trust is something we have to pursue. A number of local authorities are now using them - some are successful and some are not"

Labour councillor Barry Thorne, chairman of the leisure committee for many years, said the services had always had to compete with education and social services for funding.

Liberal Democrat committee member Councillor John Cole said: "We must not be ideological about looking at options, they should be looked at dispassionately."

But the Council's GMB convenor Ray Alderman said: "I would have great concerns about a transfer. This is privatisation of the services and Council workers never benefit from this situation."