‘Kick in the teeth!’ Locals left ‘devastated’ as council CUTS swimming pools across county
A group of swimmers have been left “devastated” after it was revealed that the local council will cut funding to yet another beloved swimming pool.
Fanshawe Pool and Gym is the home to Ware Swimming Club, which has been running for 90 years in the historic market town of Ware in Hertfordshire.
However, the club will be turfed out in the coming weeks after East Herts Council made the announcement that the pool and gym will soon close – with no plans for it to reopen.
In an interview with GB News captain at the club Tom Craft candidly revealed that the sports society is the reason he is “still here today”.
He explained: “I have been training here since I was nine years old, so now more than half of my life.
“It’s taught me discipline, respect, it’s like another family away from home.
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“I will be devastated if they shut the pool. About three years ago, I made a decision to keep training at this club. If I didn’t keep training, I don’t know whether I would still be here today.”
Locals have also hit out at the closure, with one pensioner named Margaret questioning the motives of the council.
She said: “With the Government saying how important it is to keep people’s mental and physical health, it is [shocking].
She added: “If this pool shuts all that will be gone because it’s not just a building. It is our lives.”
An employee of the pool described the closure as a “kick in the teeth” as he discussed his loss of income.
Dan Wateridge explained: “This is also part of my income and that’s now being taken away from me. It’s just a bit of a kick in the teeth, I’d say.”
Newly elected Labour MP Josh Dean has been in contact with the swimming club and says he is doing “all that he can” to try and fill the funding gap.
He met with the club on last week and said that he would be contacting them again after Rachel Reeves’s Budget, that took place yesterday.
In a statement released last week, East Herts Council revealed: “It is with regret to inform you that following the Government’s decision to withdraw funding support for the running of Leventhorpe Pool in Sawbridgeworth and Fanshawe Pool and Gym in Ware, these facilities are now due to close from Monday 23 December.”
It continued: “Despite all parties’ hard work to keep the centres open including lobbying with the local MP, the closure has become inevitable due to the lack of central Government funding, associated operating and ongoing maintenance costs, as well as the viability of the sites.
“Should significant funding become available, all parties are willing to revisit this position.”
Leventhorpe and Fanshawe Pool closing down follows another shocking closure of the Ward Freman Pool in Buntingford, which closed last year “due to the substantial investment needed to upgrade the facilities to meet essential standards”.
Ware Swimming Club has launched a petition to try and save the pool that has already reached over 5,000 signatures.