Shropshire swimming pool's first week a success

The Friends of Wem Pool have received positive feedback from visitors since taking on the swimming centre in Bowens Field on New Year's Day.

The group's membership has almost hit the 200 mark after a handful of people signed up following a reopening ceremony on January 3.

Malcolm Adkins, a member of the community group, said the first week had passed without any hiccups.

The group took over the running of the pool when previous bosses Teme Leisure stepped back from management while keeping a team of staff at the centre.

And after painting and cleaning over the break between Christmas and new year, the grand opening saw visits from the town mayor, fitness enthusiasts and interested members.

Mr Adkins said: "We haven't had any problems at all really. It's gone really well. It was great to have the grand opening and we have had about five or six new members sign up which is really good news.

"We are using membership numbers as a way of judging the success at the moment. We are hoping to tip the 200 members mark soon, and then the next target will be 300 – which would be great news for us.

"We have had lots of feedback from people saying the pool looks much brighter and smarter which is great.

"We have worked out all the little snags – the heating system which never used to work has started working and we have had all the air vents cleaned out too. It is the little things that mean quite a lot to people."

The team is still looking into some bigger projects at the pool and has been hoping to raise about £70,000 through grants, fundraising and donations. One of the ideas is to improve the gym, while another looks at swimming lessons and power systems.

Mr Adkins said: "We held our first early swimming session during the week and that went really well – we saw about nine people there."

The group still needs volunteers to help out at the pool.Call (01939) 232460 or visit www.wemswimmingandlifestylecentre.org.uk