Golf club to provide site for a new pool

PADBROOK Park has been selected as the location for a long-awaited swimming pool for Cullompton, campaigners have announced.

Gary and Sue Scargill, owners of the golf and country club, have agreed to provide space for the eagerly-anticipated pool as well as back a fundraising drive to turn it into a reality.

They say that guests at the complex will be able to use the pool and that an old toilet block can be converted into changing rooms.

Mrs Scargill, who is a swimming teacher, said she would be thrilled to have a pool at Padbrook. It was something she had always wanted, but had been prevented by the costs involved.

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"Everyone I have spoken to is buzzing about the idea. It will be fantastic to have our own pool right here in Cullompton," added Mrs Scargill, who will also provide parking for swimmers.

The site of the pool, known as the Hangar, is currently used for storing golf equipment and maintenance vehicles.

It is about 28m by 12m but there is land available that would allow it to be extended – ample space for the planned 25m indoor pool, plus a unit for learners and hydrotherapy.

The pool will belong to the community and will be run as a social enterprise, managed by a panel of trustees.

Pool campaigners will soon be talking to architects about designs and an estimated cost. When the costs are known, the campaign will apply for grants from organisations such as Sport England and the Big Lottery Fund and members have already attended workshops to learn about the conditions of obtaining funding.

Campaign chairman Dave Haslett said: "We are close to getting the pool now and things will start to move quickly – it could be open in less than three years.

"We need to prove to the funding organisations that there is genuine support and need for a pool in Cullompton, and that it would work as a self-funding enterprise. We're confident this is the case, but there will be a lot of work to do to obtain the proof we need.

"This will involve conducting our own study into the costs, as well as putting together a petition and surveying the public to find out who will use it and how often they will come.

"We will also be asking healthcare agencies, schools and other organisations to provide letters of support. Several have already expressed backing verbally or by email. We will then be able to write a formal business plan and have all the supporting evidence we need to back up our funding applications."

More than £4,000 has been raised over the past year and, added to the money from a previous campaign, the fund now stands £27,000. The committee hopes to raise this to £100,000 and will be announcing a new programme of events for 2013 at the annual meeting at Community House, Fore Street, on November 1.

Donations were made to a pool fund as far back as 1922 and there have been several attempts to bring a project to fruition.

The most recent ended in 2004 when a Mid Devon District Council-commissioned feasibility study concluded a local authority-run pool would not be viable. People who would like to help can visit the campaign shop in Fore Street.