One of the many wonderful amenities in Wotton, is the amazing Wotton Swimming Pool, built by the staff and pupils at the Secondary Modern School between 1958 and 1961. It is now run as a non-profit community enterprise and has been over the past 15 years
The pool was declared surplus to requirements by the County Council as an educational asset and was purchased by Wotton Town Council. It was then managed within the portfolio of Stroud District Council’s facilities. But, in 2010, after gradual diminishing availability Stroud gave notice that they would be unable to continue to run Wotton Pool. Facing possible closure, a business case was made for running it as a charitable body, supported by the Town Council, a case that was overwhelmingly supported by the town’s residents in a ground-breaking (at the time) local referendum.
The charity’s staff and volunteers have been working hard to get the pool ready for the new season, which starts with lane swimming sessions from 14thApril and some party bookings, increasing to afternoon public sessions from 26th April and then a full timetable from 26th May (please see our timetable on the website www.wottonpool.co.uk).
As well as open public sessions (afternoon public swims, Sunday family swim, evening lanes, adult swim, ladies’ therapeutic sessions and adult-and-pre-schooler sessions) there are opportunities to have pre-booked swimming lessons, pool parties and, new for this year, aqua aerobics. And, being such a valuable local resource, it is a pleasure to see that four local schools also use the pool for their pupils’ swimming lessons.
Wotton Swimming Pool Limited is run by a small group of trustees, who manage the pool’s operation and its assets, with day-to-day operations undertaken by paid managers and each session supervised by lifeguards and volunteer gatekeepers. The lifeguards nominate themselves and we train and test them to a national standard. This is a paid role and mainly filled by school and university students, often providing them with their first public-facing employment. It is wonderful that most of the staff, both paid and volunteers, live in Wotton or the surrounding villages and it enables them to have the opportunity to support a local amenity.
We are always looking for new volunteers to join our team and help with the running of the pool in a variety of roles, whether that be as a gatekeeper, keeping the site tidy, being a committee member, maintenance etc. so if you are interested or would like more information, please contact us through the website or via Facebook.
