Greystoke Swimming Pool
Category: Community buildings
Greystoke Swimming Pool opened in May 1973, following 10 years of planning & fundraising by villagers in order to have somewhere safe for young people to swim. It is community owned and led.
In 2018 we registered as a charity as ‘Greystoke & District Sports Association’, maintaining the outdoor heated swimming pool, playground equipment and playing field, and the café & changing rooms were rebuilt to be more welcoming and modern for our visitors.
Our current project is to rebuild the swimming pool with as much sustainability and future proofing as possible. The pool is over 50 years old and is in constant need of patching and painting each year before we open for the summer season and the air source heat pumps that heat the pool water and associated electricals (although working) are in desperate need of updating too.
Where
The heart of Greystoke village, CA11 0TW.
Who
The charity is led by a team of Trustees, all of whom are volunteers living in the local vicinity, with a variety of skill sets from current and previous jobs.
The committee met 2 years ago and decided to proceed with a project to rebuild the swimming pool, look for sustainable heat sources with less water & chemical usage and two members have taken the lead.
Why
The swimming pool is a fantastic community asset and we love to see it busy during the summer months with young people learning to swim & splashing around. We have over 100 members who regularly swim for physical and mental health benefits. We host AquaFit4All sessions, Tuesday Splash Squad (reduced price entry for local school children), a Go-Tri Event and privately hire the pool to local cubs, scouts, youth groups and private parties. We want this to continue for another 50 years. It’s expensive to operate & maintain so the project will hopefully enable us to reduce our running costs and financially break-even.
When
The swimming pool operates from May to September each year, so we’d ideally rebuild during the winter months if possible. Throughout the winter we organise a number of social events in the village to aid fundraising for projects.
What are you most proud of?
The willingness and cohesiveness of everyone involved; through new skills learned in grant applications, data gathering, generating ideas and having open discussions around feasibility options for a rebuild of the swimming pool and creating a business plan.
The work of our many volunteers who put time and effort into all our winter fundraising events; film nights (including a hot dinner), party night with local band, annual beer festival, wine tasting evening and weekly winter café.
How did you get people involved?
Through identifying skills of our committee members and inviting others to help us. Once people realise that the pool and playground areas are community owned, they want to help as it benefits them and their families. For example a playground equipment cleaning session one Saturday morning enabled us to chat to parents and gain some new helpers.
What difference did the project make?
So far with funding from Westmorland & Furness Council, we have replaced 2 old air source heat pumps with one new one (name Hugo). This should be more efficient and help to lower our electricity usage & costs over the summer months.
A feasibility study has enabled us to look at further options for the pool such as the potential for a longer opening season, safer chemical storage solutions and better access to the pools for those less able.
What do you wish you had known at the start?
How to professionally complete a grant application form.
The knowledge of key timescales for feasibility study, planning & grant applications.
How much time it takes!
What do you hope for the future of your project?
To have rebuilt the swimming pool for future generations to enjoy, have a more eco-friendly and efficient heating system.