Ashburton swimming pool saved by its community

A community swimming pool in south Devon has been saved by its community, pool bosses have said.

Ashburton Swimming Pool has been run by the local community since 2016 but is in need of significant repairs.

Trustee chairman Dave Glenton said last year that £100,000 was needed to fix leaks or the pool faced closure.

He said since then, the community had raised 60% of the funds, meaning repairs, which he believed would last another 20 years, could go ahead.

"Since the pool has been drained, it has given the engineers better access and they have found there is a couple of specific areas which are leaking," Mr Glenton said.

"We have developed a phased approach to fix it, so this year we are going to fix two or three areas.

"The work this year is in the £20,000 to £30,000 ballpark."

Mr Glenton said there would be some additional work needed next winter, which would cost a similar amount.

He said some of the work was not as critical and this year they could do a short-term patch for the pool to open at the end of May.

He added: "We took it over from the council when they decided not to run it. The deal is that if we can run it as a viable pool, great, but if not it goes back to the council ownership.

"We have been really amazed by the amount of people popping up and giving us money."

Mr Glenton said one man donated £5,000 in memory of his wife, who grew up in the town, and sadly passed away.

"There is a huge amount of love for the pool that has been a key part of the town for the past 80 to 90 years.," he added.

"Somehow we always pull through."

Mr Glenton also said they were always on the lookout for volunteers, trustees, and seasonal lifeguards.

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