The village of Quorn is demanding compensation from County Hall after a swimming pool built in the 1970s fell into disrepair.
The fundraising began in the 1960s to create an outdoor pool at the Rawlins school for use by the whole village.
Thousands of pounds were raised in several stages to build the pool, then a roof, then a heating system. The total raised over the years is unclear.
After it was completed in 1974, Leicestershire County Council was entrusted in looking after its maintenance.
In 2010, when Rawlins College became Rawlins Academy and independent from County Hall, it emerged that the pool's lining had been damaged and the expected cost of fixing it would be well over a million pounds.
The county council has claims it has had no responsibility for the pool since 1999 and that the parish council has "got its facts wrong".
Meanwhile the academy is keen to demolish the unusable pool and use the space.
Phil Child, a leading parish councillor in Quorn, said: "When we first heard about the problem in 2010 there was an agreement to repair it using section 106 money from housing developers.
"But now it seems the cost would be something like £1.5 million so it's not worth repairing.
"The village gave Leicestershire County Council a perfectly usable pool and they allowed it to deteriorate so we're asking them for our money back.
"We would like to have something for the village and we would consult people here to decide what it should be.
"The pool was paid for and created by the village and the county council should have looked after it."
A letter has been sent by the parish council chairman Gary Hughes to the chief executive of Leicestershire County Council, John Sinnott.
It states: "The Quorn community gave the swimming pool, to be maintained for the delights of future generations of villagers, into the hands of Leicestershire County Council. Leicestershire County Council has squandered that gift!
"As a consequence, Quorn Parish Council demands that Leicestershire County Council now opens discussions to determine how the villagers of Quorn will be recompensed for their loss."
County Hall has insisted it does not owe the village of Quorn any compensation for the loss of the pool.
A Leicestershire County Council spokesman said: "Unfortunately Quorn Parish Council has got its facts wrong.
"Due to Government policy, legislation and decisions taken by Rawlins College, the college has been responsible for the swimming pool since 1999.
"The future of the swimming pool is a matter for the Rawlins Academy, not the county council.
"The county council will look at its records to see what they might contain about any agreement from the 1970s which refers to the pool."
Mr Child said: "Rawlins was part of Leicestershire Education Authority until 2010 and part of the county council.
"So the county is pulling a fast one.
"They can't wash their hands of it that easily."
