A LOCAL woman’s fight for approval to build a new swimming pool in Dilton Marsh has won the day, as Wiltshire Council finally granted planning permission last month after a long campaign.
Zoe Brine, owner of Swimstars, has been looking to build a swimming pool in Clivey, just outside Dilton Marsh, to allow her to cater for the number of children wanting swimming lessons.
Swimstars was started in 2010 and it quickly became clear to Zoe that there was a huge demand for children’s swimming lessons, especially those wanting to join smaller groups in the area.
Currently, Zoe rents three different pools in the area to cater for over 250 swimmers each week. The lack of pool time and space available has meant that she has been unable to expand the business to take on any more swimmers. She has previously worked at sports centres, so understands the demand and oversubscription of local swimming lessons at local sports centres.
At the moment, she only has 35 hours a week pool time, but with her own pool, she can be more flexible and introduce a variety of new swimming times.
Zoe said, “I am saddened by the amount of children and adults who cannot swim and I feel this would really encourage more local people to enjoy another pool in the area. It would also allow families to hire the facility privately, ultimately increasing the number of people who regularly exercise. I have swam all my life and feel it’s so important that everyone gets the chance to learn, and to love swimming.
“When I previously applied for planning permission, I don’t believe it was looked at properly as comments which were made by councillors and other objectors – such as parking issues – did not reflect the application. I’m not sure whether this was because the planning application was unclear, or they never actually intended to look deeply into it.
“A little more communication between the council and myself would have cleared up their issues and planning permission would have been approved, instead of me having to pay to repeat the process again.
“Throughout the process during the second application they were more willing to listen. They came and visited the site and were really positive about the prospect.
“ We also had the continued support from Fairfield Farm who wrote an official letter of support which held weight for the application. We also had national support from Ellie Simmonds and Sharron Davis, two professional swimmers, which looked great.
“Overall, I just find it crazy that they would turn down such a positive thing for the area. In my head, all I am doing is giving to the area, i’m not taking anything away. The land is currently occupied by some farming storage – this will remain – with the pool being built on the remaining half.
“Now that planning application has been approved, I feel positive. It will be nice to take the business to the next step, allowing me to be more flexible and providing more services to the people who need them. I really feel it will help local people, the community and give people a nice, exclusive space to come and swim.
“The next stage for me is visiting exhibitions to learn about the best materials and equipment to use to build the pool. I know it’s not going to be a quick, cheap build, but if we dig deep, we eventually will have a lovely facility for people to enjoy. I want to spend the time and money doing it right.
“I learnt to swim in Westbury Pool which is such a fabulous facility for the town. However, with the town and surrounding villages expanding, I’m positive this new venture will help promote swimming in the area. I just want to provide an additional facility for the ever-growing demand, and help as many children as I can learn to swim.”
