Bridgnorth pool fundraising efforts will continue
Shropshire Council says it will work with a school and a town council to help find £70,000 for work on a community swimming pool.
Bridgnorth has been without a community swimming pool since September after structural issues were discovered at Bridgnorth Endowed Leisure Centre when builders were completing an unrelated changing room refurbishment.
After raising hundreds of thousands of pounds through grants, the school is still facing a shortfall of £70,000.
The pool is due to reopen next month but the new changing rooms will remain closed until the funding is raised to complete them.
The community has rallied together and set up an online fundraising page, which has raised more than £300. Regular meetings for the community are also being arranged to share fundraising ideas to get the centre refurbished and fully open once again.
The school took over the centre, including the pool which was built in the 1970s, from Shropshire Council 18 months ago.
Council chiefs were previously urged to offer financial support to help rescue the pool.
The school chairman of governors, Mark Freathy, wrote to Chris Edwards, the head of infrastructure and communities at the council, urging it to help meet the cost.
At a community meeting organised by campaign group Help Our Pool Bridgnorth, a spokesman for Shropshire Council said that some funding may be available as the centre is one of the council's proposed sporting hubs.
Lezley Picton, Shropshire Council’s cabinet member for culture and leisure, said that there will be some funding for the hubs, but the extent is yet to be decided.
She said: “Bridgnorth Endowed Leisure Centre has been identified as a potential Tier 1 hub in the facilities strategy that will be considered by cabinet, and as such there will be some degree of financial support for Tier 1 hubs going forward, but the extent of this funding is yet to be determined.
“As regards repairs to the centre, including the swimming pool, Shropshire Council will work in partnership with the school, Bridgnorth Town Council and the community in order to try and bridge the funding gap.”
Bridgnorth Endowed Leisure Centre's pool is set to reopen to the public on July 8.
The first stage of the unrelated £400,000 centre refurbishment, a new gym and indoor cycling studio, is complete and is being used by the school and community.
For more information search Help Our Pool Bridgnorth on Facebook, or visit justgiving.com/crowdfunding/Bridgnorthpool.
