A fundraising campaign continues to make sure a Powys border town’s swimming pool survives for decades to come.
The 20-meter pool in Bishop’s Castle was built 50 years ago, and a charity campaigning to keep leisure facilities in the town is now turning its attention to making sure it survives and flourishes for another 50 years.
The Save the SpArC charity attended the annual town meeting to join the Town Council and members of the local community in an evening of grant funding presentations which reflected the depth and breadth of the community spirit in Bishop’s Castle.
Jean Shirley, Chair of Trustees, explained that the pool now needs a new liner and that this is an ideal opportunity to look at other improvements to make sure that it is both financially viable and energy efficient.
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Jean said: “We know how valued the pool is by our local community for swimming by people of all ages for both health and pleasure, and how well it is used by local primary schools to teach children to swim.
“The SpArC charity is committed to working closely with Shropshire Council in delivering a sustainable pool for the future and we will shortly be launching a major funding appeal to help to do this”.
Anyone willing to help with fundraising should get in touch with Ruth Houghton on ruthmhoughton55@gmail.com.
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“We would love both practical offers of help, and ideas for using the pool’s 50th anniversary as an income-generating theme,” a spokesperson for the charity said.
The Save the SpArC charity was set up when the leisure centre and theatre was under threat of closure.
“Although, through a huge community effort, our Leisure Centre has been saved, there is still a rocky road ahead,”
“The Centre has seen some great changes since being taken over by Shropshire Council in April 2020, but the council is under huge financial pressure and its focus and resources are often pulled to the bigger towns.”
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