Kirkcudbright Swimming Pool could reopen within “a fortnight”.
Hopes have been rising that the well-used centre could soon be making waves again and it got a boost this week when the gym part of the leisure complex restarted last week.
The popular facility has been closed since November 28 after a cash crisis sparked by soaring energy bills forced funders to pull the plug.
Since then hundreds of swimmers have been left high and dry as efforts continue to get the pool ready again under new guidance.
But their three and a half month wait could soon be at an end – if systems checks give the pool the all clear.
Kirkcudbright Swimming Pool chairman Brian Matthews said: “We have opened last Monday but that’s just he gym,
“We are very excited about reopening the pool and the working group feels likewise.
“At the moment we are working on the water levels and water temperature.
“We have to get those right for people to come and swim without freezing to death.”
He added: “It a lot of water to heat up.
“The pool measures 20 meters by eight metres – and is more than a metre deep at the shallow end and nearly two metres at the deep end.
“Hopefully, if everything goes well in bringing the water temperature up and getting the levels right, we’ll be open within a fortnight.”
Temporary manager Rick Newman was appointed at the end of January to pilot the pool through to full use once more.
Representatives of Kirkcudbright Swimming Pool, the Friends of Kirkcudbright Swimming Pool and Kirkcudbright Development Trust are all aboard a working group tasked with restarting the pool as soon as is practically possible.
Now the imminent reopening has given the group confidence to advertise for a permanent manager.
Invitations to apply for the post have been posted on the Kirkcudbright Swimming Pool and Kirkcudbright Development Trust Facebook pages.
Mr Matthews said: “We have had two or three responses already.
“We consider that to be quite good and we will start interviewing applicants in April.”
Pool funders Kirkcudbright Development Trust are currently in discussions over bringing the facility fully under its wing as a separate trading arm.
