THE CAMPAIGN to save Westbury’s Victorian swimming pool has received a boost from Westbury Town Council.
The campaign is being spearheaded by the newly formed group Save Westbury’s Pool, which was recently awarded a £200 grant by the town council towards its campaign.
Westbury’s only swimming pool was revealed to be under threat as Wiltshire Council conducts an audit of leisure facilities across the county. It believes there is an over-provision of swimming pools in west Wiltshire, which has five pools in the area.
However Wiltshire Council has emphasised that no decision regarding the future of any pool will be made until after the review and a public consultation has taken place.
After forming last month, the committee has been approached by members of the public who want to get involved.
Bob Lee, chairman of Save Westbury’s Pool, said, “We’re very grateful to Westbury Town Council for their support. We’ll be having a much expanded committee meeting at the end of the month.
“It will be a broad based committee of around 10-12 people, including those who use the pool and councillors.
“We feel that we have time on our side and we’re going for it.”
The group plans to hold a full public meeting in the Laverton building in April, with the exact date to be announced.
So far the group has written to groups and organisations, including Wiltshire’s director of health, Maggie Rae, the Prince of Wales and the Victorian Society to highlight the threat.
A freedom of information request has also been submitted to Wiltshire Council asking for details on the usage figures for all five swimming pools in west Wiltshire.
Bob Lee said, “We want to be able to look very carefully at the situation and that data will help us do that.
“We’ve had a very positive response from the Victorian Society who have been in touch and been very supportive. I believe that they have quite a bit of influence in these things.”
Meanwhile the Save Westbury’s Swimming Pool group on Facebook has reached more than 1,300 members, and the paper petition, in various locations around the town has already attracted hundreds of signatures.
The online petition, at http://petitions. number10.gov.uk/savewestburypool/ is also growing in size.
Bob Lee added, “I’m very pleased with how people have responded so far, but I’ve got to say we’ve got more to go.”
If you would like to get involved with the new committee, or to find out more then contact Bob Lee on 01373 301183 or Mike Cuthbert-Murray on 07738 873640.
