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Wednesday, November 19, 2008, 10:55
Bridgwater Town Council is calling for any new swimming pool to be located in the centre of town, where the Splash is located.
It says The Splash is a tourist attraction and a new pool should also attract people from far and wide.
Bridgwater's Mayor Graham Granter said: "Our town council is trying to ensure we have a good swimming pool in the centre of town."
Sedgemoor District Council has teamed up with the Building Schools For The Future team to propose a six-lane Olympic-sized pool on the site of former allotments next to Chilton Trinity Technology College.
But campaigners want to keep the Splash open or have a new pool in the town centre either in Northgate, where the Splash is located or on the Bridgwater Community Hospital site when it is vacated.
At a meeting of the town council on Thursday, November 13, Angela Tarr, who launched the Save The Splash campaign, and a group of swimmers appealed to the town council to keep a pool in the town.
Mrs Tarr has collected 3,300 signatures from people who do not want to see the pool closed down.
She said the Splash should be repaired and maintained rather than closed.
Mrs Tarr said: "I have names from far and wide. The Splash is a tourist attraction bringing people into the town. It's mainly a leisure pool but used for serious swimming by groups including the Bridgwater Swimming Club."
She said Aquasplash sessions can attract 60 people; mother and baby groups help the swimmers of the future; and pensioners and disabled groups enjoy the river run and wave machine and the beach area is a bonus to get in and out of the water.
Schools use it and public sessions are enjoyed by families.
Cllr Bill Monteith said: "If the Splash is to close and move, it must be to a central area in the town and must be better. It should not be closed until the new one is up and running and proven."
Cllr Philip Smeed said: "I do wonder if any thought has been given to the benefit of the pool as a tourist attraction. I wonder if Sedgemoor is aware of how many people come to Bridgwater to use the pool."
He warned that replacing it with an Olympic-sized six-lane pool may not have the same attraction for families.
Cllr John Turner said the council must have high aspirations for a swimming pool.
