Swimming clubs trying to save a North East pool from being closed down for good have issued an appeal for help to turn their plans into reality.
Volunteers are needed to ensure that Birtley Swimming Centre can be brought back into use, after falling victim to council budget cuts. The Durham Road pool is one of two Gateshead Council-run sites that are due to shut next Friday, July 21, under controversial cost-cutting measures.
But there is hope that the pool can be reopened next year, with the Gateshead and Whickham Swimming Club (GAW) and Birtley Amateur Swimming Club working on a bid to take community ownership of the facility. After lodging an initial business case with the council to demonstrate that the centre can be profitable under new management, the clubs are now in need of support to take their proposal for a community asset transfer to the next stage.
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Local people with experience in HR, IT, and project management are being asked to come forward to join the team working on the bid – with their expertise needed to push the plans forward. GAW club treasurer Matthew Grant told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that volunteers would need to put in an average of one day of work per week for the next nine months to help get the asset transfer over the line, with hopes that the pool could be reopened next April.
A public meeting is being held at 2.30pm this Saturday, July 15, at St Joseph’s Catholic Club and Parish Centre on Birtley Lane, which locals are being urged to attend to find out more about the relaunch proposal and what help is needed.
Mr Grant said: “We can’t make it happen if we have not got those extra resources. So far it has been quite a small team working on this, just a few of us, which is fine for a business case but now we need more resources and more specific skill sets.”
The swimming clubs expect that around £100,000 will need to be raised to reopen the pool, with a crowdfunding campaign expected to launch later this year to supplement any grant funding that can be secured. Mr Grant said that there is “quite a lot of confidence that we can make this work”, having developed plans based on the experience of the Elswick Pool in Newcastle – which was successfully reopened by the community in 2019 after being closed for several years.
When the decision to close Birtley Swimming Centre and Gateshead Leisure Centre was made last month, it sparked concerns that shutting the sites before community ownership deals are finalised risked damaging those plans if regular users switch to alternative, privately-owned facilities in the meantime. Mr Grant said: “Clearly, there is a risk that we lose some people for good, but our plans will involve doing a lot of publicity prior to the pool reopening – we will be leafleting every house in the area.
“The pool timetable will be much more interesting than it is now and we are going to procure a quality, experienced learn to swim provider who will be doing all the lessons.” He added: “Nobody was happy with the council decision to close it, but we are working with them and they have been supportive of us. They didn’t want to close leisure centres, but have been forced to by the financial situation."
