A much-loved local swimming pool is to be given a 'vital lifeline' following the news that it has lost £500,000 in the past year.
Newport Pagnell's Middleton Swimming Pool is home to one of the UK's oldest swimming clubs, opening way back in 1896.
But the leisure centre has been struggling financially, resulting in a call-out for donations - with over £20,000 being raised.
It has today (18/2) been announced by Milton Keynes Council that the local authority will too help Middleton Swimming Pool afloat by offering vital funding.
Budget proposals before Milton Keynes Council next week will include a fund to ensure leisure assets are in a position to reopen after having to close for months on end due to successive lockdowns.
One such leisure centre is Middleton Pool, currently owned by Newport Pagnell Town Council and operated by Places for People Leisure.
Liberal Democrat Cllr Jane Carr recently asked Milton Keynes Council Leader Pete Marland to ensure funds were set aside for Middleton Pool, and he has now written to the Chair of Newport Pagnell Town Council to say that the council will offer financial support to the pool.
Recent papers from a Town Council meeting show the pool has lost over £500,000 during the past year and that those losses are unsustainable, putting the future of the pool at risk.
Cllr Peter Marland, Leader of MK Council said: “Securing the future of this valuable community asset is exactly why we have proposed this funding in the budget. I was happy to respond to Cllr Carr’s request and say to the Town Council that MK Council will help fund the financial viability of the swimming pool during this tough time so its in a position to reopen when it can.”
Cllr Jane Carr, Liberal Democrat councillor for Newport Pagnell South, added: "It's really vital that we keep Middleton Pool open. It’s really successful usually but has been hit hard by lockdown. I asked Cllr Marland to ensure that the pool is helped with the funding proposed in the budget and I’m pleased he’s been able to confirm this to the Town Council. It's an asset for the whole city, not just the people of my ward.”
