Hopes of a last minute reprieve for Burnham-On-Sea swimming pool appear to have been dealt a blow with a decision by district councillors on Wednesday afternoon (January 16th) that the facility will shut on May 31st unless a new owner can be found.
At a packed meeting of the full district council inside Burnham’s Princess Hall (pictured), members voted in favour of shutting the Berrow Road facility by May 31st despite pleas from campaigners for its life to be expanded.
Fifteen councillors were in favour of keeping the pool open until a new owner could be found and removing the May 31st deadline, but 31 voted against.
A petition of more than 7,000 signatures was handed to the council by Pat Pusill of Burnham Swimming Club (pictured).
And Tom Ashton, Chairman of the Save Our Swimming Pool (SOS) campaign group, spoke passionately about why the site should be saved. One resident, Sidonie Ball, also made a strong speech in favour of the pool remaining open.
The council claims the pool’s annual £250,000 running costs and £2m of repairs make the site too expensive to run, particularly in light of its £1.8m funding shortfall.
A huge campaign to fight the closure has seen thousands signing a petition, hundreds attending a packed public meeting before Christmas, and dozens of swimmers holding a protest outside the pool.
Speaking to Burnham-On-Sea.com after Tuesday’s meeting, Burnham’s Deputy Mayor Cllr Neville Jones said he thought the meeting had gone well.
“I was heartened by the enthusiasm show by the body of people in the hall and the task group which is working towards finding a solution to keep the pool open.”
“We now have five months to find a new owner, so the extra time until May 31st is very welcome.”
“We also now have an undertaking from the council that they will continue to fund the current subsidy of £1 per child per swim after May 31st – even if a new owner is found.”
“So I don’t see today’s meeting in a negative light – it’s the dawn of a new era for Burnham swimming pool and I feel that in a relatively short time the matter will be resolved.”
Mr Ashton said: “I have mixed feelings about how the event went. We now have a definite date to aim for, although I would have preferred an open date until neogtiations are concluded. It was great to get so much support from people in the town.”
At one point during the meeting there were loud boos and shouts of “why” from the audience when a photographer from Burnham-On-Sea.com was asked to stop filming Mr Ashton making his speech – demonstrating the support for Burnham-On-Sea.com from campaigners battling to save the pool.
Pat Pusill addressed the council members and handed over a petition with over 7,000 signatures
Council members and interested Burnham residents packed into the hall – while a large number also waited outside
TV crews inside Burnham’s Princess Hall interviewed councillors about the issue
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