Save Cheddar Swimming Pool!

12th Jan, 2009, by J Owens

Please sign our online petition to save the pool at the Leisure Centre:

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/savecheddarpool/

Sedgemoor District Council is set to cut their annual grant of £200,000 per year for The Kings of Wessex Leisure Centre, Cheddar from 1 April 2009 when their Executive meets on Wednesday of this week. The Council is proposing that its annual revenue grant of £150,000 and £50,000 contribution to the capital fund be withdrawn to save money.

When the Swimming Pool was built in 1998 Sedgemoor District Council committed itself to providing funding for the pool for a period of 25 years and entered into an agreement with Somerset County Council and The Kings of Wessex School to do so. Regrettably, it has chosen unilaterally to withdraw from this agreement in terms of its future funding obligations.

This decision is set to be made without any consultation or thought for the consequences of the loss of funding for the young people and community of the Cheddar Valley. In fact the school was only made aware of the proposal last week.

The loss of funding means that it will not be possible to keep the Swimming Pool open and the pool will be forced to close. This will be a real tragedy for the whole Cheddar Valley community and will affect both young and old alike.

The District Council is proposing that any operating costs for the next two years are met from the accumulated capital fund. This fund is used to repair and maintain the swimming pool and it is ridiculous to suggest that it can be used for any other purpose.

At the same time as the District Council is cutting funding to The Kings of Wessex Leisure Centre the Council is proposing to commit itself to building a new swimming pool at Chilton Trinity in Bridgwater.

Commenting on the proposal Headteacher Chris Richardson stated:

"We are all shocked at the proposal by Sedgemoor District Council to cut funding for the swimming pool. The inevitable closure of the pool will have a dramatic impact on the whole community, but particularly the large number of children who have swimming lessons at the Centre. It is a very short-sighted decision that has clearly not been thought through. I do hope that Sedgemoor District Council will re-consider their decision and continue to fulfil their obligations to the Cheddar Valley community."

Chairman of Governors Peter Lythgoe stated:

"I am deeply concerned that Sedgemoor District Council is planning to cut £200,000 per year from the budget of The Kings of Wessex Leisure Centre. Whilst the District Council are not saying that the pool will close, with this major loss of funding it is inevitable. I hope that the community will rally together to fight the cuts and save the pool before it is too late."

Manager of the Leisure Centre Paul Whittaker stated:

"This cut in funding flies in the face of all the good work that the Leisure Centre does to promote a healthy and active lifestyle. I struggle to understand why anyone would want to close this wonderful swimming pool."



Notes:

The Kings of Wessex Leisure Centre is currently owned and operated by Somerset County Council on behalf of the school and the community.

Funding for the Leisure Centre is provided jointly by Somerset County Council, Sedgemoor District Council and The Kings of Wessex School.

The funding provided by Sedgemoor District Council is for the community use of the Swimming Pool and the maintenance of this facility.

The school Governing Body are not legally permitted to use education funding for supporting the community use of the Leisure Centre, including the Swimming Pool and are not therefore in a position to make up any shortfall.

The Swimming Pool was opened in 1998 and replaced the Cheddar Outdoor Pool. Funding to build the pool was provided by The National Lottery, Somerset County Council and from donations.

The Swimming Pool currently delivers weekly swimming lessons to over 1000 children in the Cheddar Valley and has 200,000 visitors per year.

Sedgemoor Splash in Bridgwater has received a subsidy of £686,180 from Sedgemoor District Council in the current financial year.