Market Drayton's pool will reopen when it is safe, mayor vows
The mayor of Market Drayton has vowed that the town's swimming pool will not go the way of the outdoor pool which closed for good three years ago.
The indoor pool remains closed long after others in the county have reopened because the building's ventilation must be adapted to make it safe, and Councillor Roy Aldcroft moved to reassure townspeople who feared the worst.
He said members of the public have been asking whether the indoor facility would suffer the same fate as the outdoor swimming pool, which has been closed for years.
Cllr Aldcroft, speaking at a meeting of the town council's community and governance committee, said: "A few weeks ago I got in touch with leisure services regarding the closure of the swimming pool. You may recall it's been closed since lockdown really.
"Comments were coming from members of the public – 'it's been closed for six months, will it ever open again? Is it going to go the way of the outdoor swimming pool?'
"The answer to that is no.
"Government guidance on the ventilation was only issued in July.
"They've had to make considerable changes so they're now looking at I think within the next two to three weeks actually getting contractors involved going forward. How long it will be for contractors to work with what they've got to do we're not quite sure.
"But I am assured by the leisure services that Market Drayton is a priority. It is going to reopen and it will reopen as a safe venue for everything including Covid-19.
"As soon as it looks as if it's going to open it will be published in the press."
The facility is run by Shropshire Community Leisure Trust, which has cited “issues around [its] ability to enforce current social distancing and safety guidelines, which include strict rules around air ventilation”.
At the meeting, Councillor Mark Whittle asked the mayor: "Is there any information on how long it will take?"
He responded: "They've got to sign off on the equipment that's going to be fitted.
"They're in the process of doing that now so as soon as it's ordered, provided there isn't a backlog of orders, as I was told, in two to three weeks they should be fitting the equipment.
"Give it another couple of weeks to run the snags through and then hopefully we'll be all set for business, but nice and safely."
