CHANGE is coming to the Shaftesbury Community Swimming Pool.
The Barton Hill facility was reopened to the public last year after a grant of £50,000 from the Big Lottery Fund helped campaigners finish their refurbishment project.
Now, with the closure of the Shaftesbury Leisure Centre looming, trustees of the community-backed pool are reorganising in a bid to offer the town’s people a viable alternative to threatened facilities at the leisure centre.
Town mayor Cllr Win Harvey, Douglas Lydiate and Jon Brookes, all driving forces behind the restoration of the pool, have stepped down from its governing trust.
Shaftesbury Town Council has been a major backer of the swimming pool, but has asked for assurances from new trustees before committing more money to its running costs.
Councillors had earmarked £6,000 for the pool in the coming financial year, but have put work on its agreement with the trustees on hold pending a full report. North Dorset District Council is working on a 125-year lease of the pool to trustees, which may include a fitness suite for the Barton Hill facility.
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