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Friday, 3rd September 2010

Joy at Kirkham baths plan

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Published Date: 09 October 2008
By Julia Bennett
AN ambitious plan to save under threat Kirkham Baths and transform it into a state of the art leisure centre has created waves of excitement.
Rural Splash presented its business plan to run the baths as a charitable trust to some 150 local residents and Fylde councillors.

Chairman Raymond Green said: "This business plan is practical and inspirational – there is room for growth and the potential to create this hub in the middle of the Fylde.

"There are 16 schools using Kirkham Baths every week and we have a catchment area of 30,000 people."

The group is hoping to secure a subsidy of £120,000 from Fylde Council – a figure which would be reduced to £60,000 within a few years – as well as a £10,000 donation from surrounding town and parish councils.

Fylde-based YMCA has also offered to help run the new centre, designed by Croft Goode Ltd architects, which would include moneymaking facilities such as a gym, spa, beauty area and café.

Richard Nulty, Rural Splash committee member, said: "Income would be increased by getting more people in the pool and probably getting them to pay more.

"If the trust is taking over the pool it will also have to reduce labour costs, change pay and service patterns."

But residents desperate to keep the pool open seemed happy with the proposals presented to them at Kirkham Community Centre.

James Taylor, 15, a member of Kirkham and Wesham Swimming Club, said: "The plans look really good because there is a gym so it would help swimmers improve their fitness by doing weight training.

"It would bring the swimming club more up to date."

Teresa McGardle, 33, from Wesham, said: "We are surrounded by water.

"It's going to take one death to make them realise that we need a pool so children can learn how to swim.

"What's more important cutting costs or saving lives?"

And Helen Bond, 31, of Mellor Road, Kirkham, said: "My three children all use the pool for swimming lessons, it's really important for them.

"The plans look good. I'm a personal fitness trainer so I might be able to work there!"

Each councillor at Fylde Council, which spends an annual net amount of £300,000 to run the pool, will now be sent a copy of Rural Splash's business plan.

Kirkham councillor Liz Oades said: "We believe Kirkham pool can be saved and it can be enhanced.

"We must have a subsidy to stay afloat and can form a charitable trust and work with the YMCA.

"We need to have a decision about the subsidy by November."

Coun Simon Renwick, portfolio holder for community services, congratulated Rural Splash.

He said: "I think they have come up with some good concepts. I hope we can move forward to support the provision."

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  • Last Updated: 09 October 2008 7:08 AM
  • Source: Blackpool Gazette
  • Location: Blackpool
 
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1

ThorntonFINKER,

09/10/2008 12:00:55
I wish you all the best in your plight to save what is The Future.
A place to take the already bored children and learn them how to swim. its a great way of beating obestety in children.
The council would sooner spend YOUR money on attracting visitors with a illuminated archway , Wheres the sense in that, they should be ashammed , good luck !
2

Frustrated,

St Annes 09/10/2008 16:57:28
As far as I am aware Fylde council does not fund the illuminated archway. The plan to save Kirkham baths shows just how these ventures can be saved with a little vision and determination. The St Annes pool was deliberately not given the chance.
3

AbFab34,

09/10/2008 17:10:01
If the picture accompanying this article is the AFTER development picture then heaven help us! It looks like a picture of a derelict building! And why oh why does all this money need to be spent on the outside of the building with IMO stupid designs. Give me a simple brick built building with all the facilities I want INSIDE and I will happily continue to use it as I do now. The pool, changing rooms, showers etc are what I want money spent on - not what colour the doors and brickwork are!

Hope the new premises get the go ahead soon.
4

thorpythorpe56,

lytham st annes 09/10/2008 17:39:34
Best laid plans comes to mind!!
Fylde Council DO not have the resources to give £120,000 subsidy grant. They are in dire straits.John Coombes (the Council Godfather)has already stated that there has got to be cuts in budgets and some people will have to undertake several jobs in order to save some sort of income.Fylde Borough Council do not want to know anything that the public wish.
If hundreds or thousands of people object to something they just ignore them and the higher chamber of the mafiosa councillors vote for what they want and not what the local people wish.But time will tell when at the next local elections when the naive docile elctorate vote with their memories of whet the council has done in the past few years.How can there be councillors on the Fylde Borough Council who actualy live in a Preston or even Blackpool.Where they make decisions concerning people not in their living area? then again the Conservative councill will do anything to stay in power.
5

Miranda Cox,

Kirkham 09/10/2008 18:24:52
Just to clarify, the drawing printed in the paper, is only a draft vision, nothing is set in stone so to speak. The plans for the interior are at this stage developmental, subject to consultation, and ultimately cost. We have to have something to work toward. The building as it is at present is what the people will get for a few years, until capital can be raised. Its not ideal, but its better than no pool at all. BUT ALL OF THIS IS SUBJECT TO THE GO AHEAD OF FYLDE BOROUGH COUNCIL. They are so financially stricken anything could happen. The pool cannot operate without some subsidy, but the money requested is a third of the present cost to tax payers. The rescue plan has been put together by volunteers, members of the community, who are not prepared to let a vital community facilty close unopposed. Remember, this is only a vision of what could be possible with imagination and drive. There is still a lot of work to be done to make it happen. Lots of lobbying to do. I am proud of what the community group Rural Splash are doing.
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Kath n Stuart,

Wesham 09/10/2008 19:19:34
What a great design for the regeneration of Kirkham Baths. We were at the meeting on Tuesday and being newish residents of the town but also users of the baths liked the design and were impressed but were surprised when the plans did not include reusable energy especialy when we heard that of the £300,000 it costs to run the baths a quarter of that cost is for energy,eg heating and lighting.Surely solar pannels in the roof would take quite a bit of that cost away if not all of it.This was commented on by quite a few of our neighbours who were at the meeting.
Could this not be taken in to consideration before the final plans go forward for planning permision if the absentee councilors ever do get round to approve the propositions for the baths.
We are all in favour of what is proposed and are keen to keep using the baths now and in the future.Good luck to all involved.
7

fed up of our so called betters,

09/10/2008 22:40:39
am i being stupid/cynical or what, but if the council closed kirkham and st annes baths, would not this land be worth a lot of money - particularly st annes - which they HAVE now closed, and in their eyes a redundant assett, an assett on the sea front worth xxxxxxx to a developer /or a LIFE if a non swimmer DROWNED,

PLEASE FYLDE COUNCIL _ HAVE SOME INTEGRITY

nb Kirkhan baths needs money spending on it to make it a decent pool , before you try and make it anything else, St annnes had more scope for future development
8

Wesham Resident,

Wesham 10/10/2008 10:02:16
The Rural Splash Team (all volunteers) must be congratulated for what they have done so far. They are passionate about trying to keep the baths open, not for themselves, but for the people of Kirkham and the surrounding areas in Fylde, in particular our children. The only way they will succeed is by getting support from everyone to indicate to the Fylde Borough Cabinet how essential it is for the Borough Council to provide assurance that they will provide a subsidy after March 2009. Make no mistake..without the subsidy, the baths will close. If that happens then the only people responsible for this closure will be the Cabinet. Yes, they will blame 'The Government' but they should consider their own mismanagemant of our funds in the first place. Smoke screens of bus passes and the like are just diversionary tactics.
Take a look at www.rural-splash.co.uk to see the business plans put forward to the Cabinet and other topics relating to the baths.
Keep up the good work......you are doing a good job!
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