Outrage over plans to turn one of Australia’s most historic pools into a block of flats has been eased in a blunt interview with Alan Jones.

The Kogarah War Memorial Olympic Pool was shut ahead of winter due to environmental concerns raised by the NSW Environment Protection Authority.

The iconic facility, which has trained 17 Olympic, world and Australian champions, was due to reopen on August 4 but will now stay shut permanently.

There are fears in the community that it will be replaced by a high-rise block of flats, with a petition against the project collecting more than 10,000 signatures.

Georges River Mayor Kevin Greene tells Alan Jones the rumours are “absolutely and totally wrong”.

“No, we will not be building a block of flats in my time or, I would think, in anyone’s time.

“I’ll stand here Alan and I will go to my grave saying to you that there will not be any structure built on that.

“It is a park, it is regarded as community land.”

Prime Minister Scott Morrison committed $5 million to the Carss Park pool during the election campaign but only if it remained on the site.

Mayor Greene says that decision won’t be up to him.

“We will build a new aquatic facility. We are looking at the suitability of that site as we speak. We’ll have a report on that by the end of the year.”

Click PLAY below to hear the full interview