Swimming pool charity shares ideas on improving Bishop’s Castle venue

Members of the Save the SpArC Charity in Bishop’s Castle attended the annual town meeting on Tuesday to share ideas about the future of the swimming pool.

SpArC is the acronym for Sports and Arts in the Community and is the name for the sports and arts centre in Bishop's Castle.

The evening was shared with other organisations which are looking for grant funding as part of the tight-knit local community.

The 20-metre swimming pool at SpArC was built 50 years ago, and the charity is now turning its attention to making sure it survives and flourishes for another 50 years.

Chair of trustees Jean Shirley explained at the meeting that the pool now needs a new liner and that this is an ideal opportunity to look at other improvements to make sure that it is both financially viable and energy efficient.

She said: "We know how valued the pool is by our local community for swimming by people of all ages for both health and pleasure, and how well it is used by local primary schools to teach children to swim. The SpArC charity is committed to working closely with Shropshire Council in delivering a sustainable pool for the future and we will shortly be launching a major funding appeal to help to do this”

Anyone willing to help with fundraising should get in touch with Ruth Houghton on ruthmhoughton55@gmail.com

Ruth said: "We would love both practical offers of help, and ideas for using the pool’s 50th anniversary as an income-generating theme."

For more information about the SpArC charity visit the Facebook page SaveTheSparc

The SpArC charity has raised more than £280,000 over the years towards improving the leisure centre.

Anyone wishing to make a donation to the SpArC charity can do so by sending a cheque to Enterprise House, Bishop's Castle, made payable to "Sport & Art in the Community (SPARC) SW Shropshire or by contacting the treasurer by email on gshemmings@hotmail.com to arrange a BACS payment.