Swimming pool for Cullompton planned

But don't hold your breath

The fight for Cullompton to get a swimming pool is starting to make a splash – nearly a hundred years after it first began.

The swimming pool campaign for Cullompton can be traced back to 1922. It's been accepted that there is demand for a pool locally, but Mid Devon Council has always been unable to fund one.

But now a community campaign and planning group in Cullompton has been raising funds since 2011, and the neighbourhood plan which goes to a referendum on 6 May includes support for the project.

Cullompton Town Council acknowledges the benefits of a modern swimming pool complex to a growing town like Cullompton would be substantial.

The neighbourhood plan says: “The indoor sport and recreation provision in Cullompton requires significant improvement just to bring the town up to a similar standard as Tiverton and Crediton, with 84 per cent of respondents to the community survey saying the town needs more leisure facilities.
“The swimming pool campaign for Cullompton can be traced back as far as 1922 and while it is accepted that there is an unmet demand locally, Mid Devon District Council has been unable to satisfy it, but there is an active community campaign and planning group in Cullompton, who have been raising project development funds since 2011.

“This has enabled progress to be made on proposals for a ‘state of the art’ swimming pool complex that includes an indoor swimming pool, a learner pool, a hydrotherapy pool, a dance studio/hall, a health and fitness suite and ten pin bowling area (3 – 4 lanes).

“A community-based project to provide the Swimming Pool Complex should attract substantial grant funding towards its construction, but it is likely however that additional and matchfunding will be required to ensure that the multimillion-pound project is developed, but the proposals are in principle supported.”

Policies within the neighbourhood plan say that the development of a swimming pool complex with appropriate ancillary facilities will be supported provided it does not have an unacceptable environmental impact, the scale of the facility is related to the needs of the area, and there is safe and convenient access for potential users.

The Cullompton Swimming Pool campaign has reached its initial target of £150,000 through local fundraising and are now talking to Sport England and other organisations about the grants they’ll need to build the pool.

The Swimming Pool ‘Campaign’ group has been engaged in negotiations with local landowners and developers, but there is no specific site allocated for the pool in the Neighbourhood Plan.