Work starts on £3.9m pool refurbishment

3 days ago

Andy GiddingsWest Midlands

News image — The work has been partly paid for by £250,000 from local fundraisers

Shropshire Council An empty swimming pool with a mural of a huge wave on the far wall — The work has been partly paid for by £250,000 from local fundraisers

Work has begun on a £3.9m swimming pool refurbishment.

The pool at Bishop's Castle Arts and Leisure Centre in Shropshire will get repairs to its roof, new easy access steps and the old oil-fired boiler will be replaced with electric system.

The funding for the project includes £250,000 donated by the trustees of the Bishop's Castle Save the SpArC charity. James Owen, the councillor responsible for leisure, said he was delighted the project has been driven by such brilliant local support and fundraising.

When finished, the pool will be 1.5m deep making it not suitable for diving.

Shropshire Council said it had received £2.45m for the project from the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme and another £680,000 from money given by developers.

The remaining £505,000 came from the council's capital repairs budget.

The swimming pool opened in 1974 and was paid for by public subscription.

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