Shrewsbury's public swimming facilities 'at risk'

Swimming groups have claimed that delaying the opening of two new pools in Shrewsbury could leave the town without any public swimming facilities.

Shropshire Council is proposing that a planned £28.8m extension to the Shrewsbury Sports Village at Sundorne, including a competition and training pool, is paused until external funding can be found.

The authority, which is unable to meet day-to-day spending without a government loan, does not want to borrow money to pay for the project.

Mandy Garrott, from the Shropshire Amateur Swimming Association, is worried that the ageing Quarry Pool in the town centre may now close before the new pools are completed.

Shropshire Council had originally proposed that subject to full council agreement next month, construction of the extension would get under way in the spring, with completion scheduled for December 2027.

"I've been talking to councillors for 15 years now about a competition pool for Shrewsbury, and every time there's an election it starts again," said Garrott.

"This is the furthest and closest we've got to it.

"Yes we're concerned for the competition pool, but we're also concerned about all swimming in Shrewsbury.

"At some point the Quarry Pool will need a lot of work doing to it, which will see it shut again for 18 months to two years. So you'll have a whole generation that won't have access to the swimming pools."

The Victorian Quarry Pool was re-built in the 1960s by the then Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council.

The building and its four pools were recently deemed "end of life" by Shropshire Council but the authority has yet to decide on their future or conduct consultation.

Repairs at the pool cost the council £423,000 in 2023/24, and both the Quarry and Shrewsbury Sports Village failed to generate enough revenue to cover their operating costs.

Graham Simcox from the Shrewsbury Underwater Hockey Club is concerned that The Quarry Pool may close for good if Shropshire Council does not have the means to rebuild or refurbish the centre.

"The club's been going for more than 50 years but we can't see a future for it," Simcox said.

"Nobody will give us any answers. Nobody will say 'this is the plan for The Quarry Pool site'.

"Neither of the pools at Sundorne would suit our needs because they're not big enough or deep enough."

Shropshire Council leaders will meet on Wednesday to discuss its capital strategy for the 2026/27 financial year.

Its plan is to shelve a number of project that require significant borrowing to pay for them.

Only infrastructure schemes that improve the financial position of the authority are set to be given the go ahead.

Such projects include a £575,000 investment to increase auditorium capacity at Theatre Severn in Shrewsbury.

A report suggests the additional seats will boost the theatre's annual income by about £200,000, and therefore pay off the investment within three years.

Liberal Democrat leader Heather Kidd said: "While our spend on capital projects comes from our capital budget – money which can only be spent on big, one-off projects that create or improve assets and infrastructure, rather than funding the delivery of services – we still need to think carefully about how we spend it and whether it's right to borrow more now which will put further pressure on our budgets.

"Those capital projects which bring in an income will remain a priority for us."

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