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Community swimming pool to reopen in January

John Devinein Chatteris
News imageJohn Devine/BBC Julian Frost, 43, has a bald head and grey and black stubbly beard and moustache. He is wearing a red and white gingham. Behind him is a swimming pool.John Devine/BBC
Julian Frost's late grandfather converted the former Empress cinema into a swimming pool in 1964

A town's only public swimming pool is to reopen next month after major repair work.

The Empress pool in Chatteris, Cambridgeshire, was forced to close in 2023 after structural issues were discovered.

Julian Frost, a trustee of the pool in Park Street, said it would reopen on 9 January after thousands of pounds were raised to pay for the work.

"I am so happy that we will once again have swimming available in Chatteris," he said.

News imageJohn Devine/BBC A swimming pool, with no-one in or around the water. The building has sky blue walls and darker blue bench seating.John Devine/BBC
The pool had been given a complete makeover over the past two years, said Mr Frost

Mr Frost, 43, is a grandson of local builder Percy Rooke, who bought and converted the former cinema building into a pool.

Building work has been taking place over the last two years to the pool, which opened in 1964 and has given generations of local children somewhere safe to swim.

"Before the pool, youngsters learnt to swim in drains and rivers, which is obviously not ideal," said Mr Frost.

"I learnt to swim in the Empress and so did all my brothers."

News imageCHATTERIS MUSEUM A black and white photo of a group of nine young girls diving into a pool or wait to dive in. A female teacher can be seen in the background blowing a whistle. The walls of the building seem to be breeze block.CHATTERIS MUSEUM
Thousands of Fenland residents have learned to swim at the pool
News imageCHATTERIS MUSEUM A black and white photo of a smart boy in a suit, with a school cap and scarf around his neck, with three bikes near some steps leading up to the entrance of an old cinema.CHATTERIS MUSEUM
The building was formerly the Empress cinema, pictured here in the 1950s

Mr Frost said when the pool unexpectedly shut in 2023, there were fears it might never reopen.

"I have had sleepless nights over this and am now so relieved that we raised the money in order to give people the chance to swim again," he said.

Mr Frost said it had been a "real community effort" to raise the funds needed and that a £5,000 grant from Chatteris Town Council had been very welcome.

"People are so excited to have the Empress back, they are renewing their memberships and can't wait to get back into the water," he added.

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