Community-Funded Refurbishment Secures Future of SpArC Swimming Pool.

A swimming pool built through public subscription more than 50 years ago has reopened following a major refurbishment programme made possible by a huge community fundraising effort and investment from Shropshire Council.

Appointed by Shropshire Council, Alliance Leisure has delivered the £1.15 million refurbishment of the swimming pool and pool hall at Bishops Castle Leisure and Arts Centre, better known as Sports and Arts in the Community (SpArC), a vital community facility serving rural communities across south-west Shropshire since 1974.

The refurbishment is expected to reduce annual operating costs by approximately £12,000 while increasing participation and attracting up to 30 per cent more users, helping to secure the long-term sustainability of the facility.

Owned by the Council and operated by the Shropshire Community Leisure Trust, SpArC shares its site with Bishop's Castle Community College. At the heart of the centre is a 20-metre, four-lane swimming pool that is used by six local primary schools to meet national curriculum swimming requirements, as well as by the wider community. The centre also offers a sports hall, fitness gym, arts studio and gallery space.

SpArC benefits from significant local support. A board of trustees consistently raise funds to enhance facilities at the centre. In recent years, trustees have secured and invested more than £250,000 into a range of projects including a gym, café, pocket park and improvements to the centre’s arts and theatre provision.

With the need to modernise the ageing pool, the trustees successfully raised an additional £250,000 to fund a new pool liner and easy-access steps with handrails and guardrails to replace the traditional ladder steps, which presented challenges for older users and people with disabilities.

Sarah Marston, Shropshire’s Council’s Cabinet member for community and environment, said: “This is such a good example of how funding from the council and from housing developers can be added to grant funding and money raised by the local community to make a real difference to a local community.

“People in Bishop’s Castle and across southwest Shropshire will have a pool that they can be proud of, and one that will be more cost-effective to operate and accessible for all.”

The project addressed a number of critical issues affecting the pool’s viability. The existing pool tank required continual repairs and was nearing the point where significant structural failure could occur without intervention. The tank has now been reprofiled and relined with a durable waterproof finish.

The ageing filtration system had also reached the end of its operational life, resulting in inefficient water circulation and increasing maintenance. As part of the refurbishment, the filtration system has been replaced, including new plant equipment, buried pipework, skimmers, sumps and water inlets. Additional improvements include the renewal of key pool fixtures and fittings such as lane rope anchors, static water level rails and the reinstatement of the existing pool hoist. Structural bases have also been installed to support a future pool cover system.

As with many rural projects, one of the key challenges was securing suitably experienced contractors capable of undertaking specialist leisure refurbishment works. By procuring through the UK Leisure Framework, owned and managed by Denbighshire Leisure Ltd (DLL), the project team was able to appoint design and construction specialists with experience in delivering complex leisure projects.

Led by Alliance Leisure, the project team included Universal Group as principal contractor, Bellrock providing facilities management expertise, and Greenwood Projects delivering project management services.

Greg Walker, Business Development Manager, Alliance Leisure, says: “This project shows what can be achieved when communities, local authorities and partners work together towards a shared goal. The upgraded pool is modern and accessible and well positioned to support future generations through children’s swimming lessons, family swimming sessions, wellbeing activities and access for older adults and people with disabilities.”