Over £200,000 needed to save Church Stretton swimming pool
More than £200,000 needs to be raised to safeguard a town's swimming pool for future generations.
Church Stretton's 40-year-old pool is in a "dilapidated" condition and needs to be modernised to continue to be used by schools and residents, according to staff.
A fundraising appeal has been launched to pay for the work, which will include repairing parts of the building, updating filtration systems and improving insulation.
Lee Hassan, general manager of Teme Leisure which manages the building, said the pool had to be closed for four weeks over Christmas because of a heating fault in the pool plant room, caused by the age of the machinery.
The 20 metre pool, which opened in 1971, was built after the people in the town raised £19,000, but now campaigners say the pool is in dire need of modernisation if it is to stay open.
The building is owned by Shropshire Council, but with a 30 per cent reduction in funding for leisure services in the pipeline, major spending by the authority is highly unlikely.
Former town mayor Beryl Smith, who is now chair of Teme Leisure's Church Stretton advisory committee, said: "We need to take action, and want to start fundraising as soon as possible. The residents of Church Stretton have proven to be very generous in the past."
The campaign is being supported by Ludlow MP Philip Dunne.
