Agenda item

To close the pool at the end of the school term in December while further investigations can be undertaken as to potential solutions to remedy the health and safety concerns.

The Executive Member for Wellbeing presented the recommendation about the closure of the Ward Freman pool in Buntingford. She said that shortly after the administration were elected, they were made aware that the Ward Freman pool needed several repairs and there was concern about the filtration system and the tiles on the pool. There had been increased testing of the water quality at the pool and the council were recently informed that the risk was too great to leave the pool open after December 2023.

The Executive Member for Wellbeing said that the costs of repairs were high and questions had been asked whether the filtration system could be repaired. She said that the advice she had received said that this would require a complete replacement of the filtration system which would require the pool to be drained and there were concerns about the sides of the pool potentially collapsing without the pressure of the water.

The Executive Member for Wellbeing said she had visited Buntingford to present the problems with the pool and to gather feedback from residents. She said that there was a petition gathering signatures from residents to keep the pool open which currently had about 1,000 signatures. She said, on behalf of residents, that she felt angry and disappointed that pool had not been maintained by both the Conservative administrations of East Herts Council and Herts County Council. She added that a lack of repairs under the Conservative administrations meant much high costs now and money had been spent on a large car park in Bishop’s Stortford and new leisure centres in the larger towns with the smaller towns missing out.

The Executive Member for Wellbeing said this had put the new administration in an incredibly challenging and unwanted position to try and fund the upgrades to the pool. She said they were determined to find a solution to the funding issues and said that the residents of Buntingford felt strongly about this matter. She said despite the current situation, she had had amazing offers of help from the residents of Buntingford and would use the next few months to explore funding options with Herts County Council and other partners to help resolve the issue.

Councillor Hopewell proposed that the recommendation in the report be supported. Councillor Goldspink seconded the proposal.

Councillor Brittain said the closure of the pool was a total blow to Buntingford and he echoed what the Executive Member for Wellbeing had said. He thanked the residents of Buntingford who came to the presentations and shared good ideas and it was heartening to see the community coming together to offer help and support. He said he wanted to assure residents that the administration will continue to work with residents to find a solution and hoped that the pool would reopen soon.

Councillor Goldspink said she supported the recommendation but was dismayed and angry at the situation. She supported the recommendation in order to keep residents safe and wondered if there was any merit in sending a letter to Herts County Council asking them to step up and provide the 40% of costs that they were supposed to do originally.

Councillor Crystall said that was a good point and said he would discuss with the Executive Member and officers.

Councillor Glover-Ward said that she knew Councillors Hopewell and Brittain,  officers, and Everyone Active had worked hard to explore options to try and keep the pool open. She said it had become evident that that was not possible. She said that the Ware Lido had recently been refurbished including replacing the tank and suggested that it might be worth discussing with the company that undertook the works to see if they could help with Ward Freman.

Councillor Crystall thanked officers who had worked hard over the last few weeks to get information from the County Council.

Councillor Hopewell echoed Councillor Crystall’s comments and thanked officers for dealing with her questions. She said she was also thankful for the residents who had stepped up and were keen to see what they could do to save the community asset.

Councillor Dumont said that swimming was very important in his family and said that the swimming pool was a key resource for the residents of Buntingford. He made the point that the Executive Members had not been elected to close swimming pools and stood for the exact opposite. He said they had been presented with one option to close the pool for health and safety reasons. He said that residents looked to the council to provide services and the current administration were having to firefight inherited problems. He said there was one positive from the situation and that was for the council to promote health and wellbeing and make it a priority to get people swimming. He asked the Executive Member for Wellbeing to work with him to review the council’s leisure strategy to promote health and wellbeing.

Councillor Bull said he used to swim five days a week and said it would be a sad day when the pool closed. He said Buntingford residents would have to travel 13 miles to the nearest pool and hoped that a solution could be found to save the pool.

Councillor Goldspink asked the Head of Strategic Finance and Property to provide advice about meeting some of the costs required.

The Head of Strategic Finance and Property said that he would be able to provide advice to the Executive at their meeting on 21 December 2023 where they would be presented with the budget report.

Councillor Dumont said the reality was that the money was not there.

Councillor Crystall thanked Executive Members for talking to residents and looking towards next steps to ensure the pool was not lost even if the council could not afford to provide the money.

Councillor Daar said this was a good practical example of a listening council and how the administration wanted to develop moving forward.

The motion to support the recommendation having been proposed and seconded was put to the meeting and upon a vote being taken, was declared CARRIED.

RESOLVED - To close the pool at the end of the school term in December while further investigations can be undertaken as to potential solutions to remedy the health and safety concerns.