JUST one of the four paddling pools across the conurbation remains at risk of closure.
BCP Council’s now approved 2024/25 budget cut funding for all council-run paddling pools in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole to save £107,000.
This includes one in Hamworthy park, another in Bournemouth’s Littledown park, Christchurch Quomps and one in Redhill park, Bournemouth.
So far, only Quomps splash park has a secure future after Christchurch Town Council allocated £55,000 in funds in its draft budget for 2024/25.
Meanwhile discussions are ongoing between BCP Council and the charity BH Live to run the Littledown site.
The community group Friends of Hamworthy Park is looking to take on the splash park their along with the café.
That just leaves Redhill splash park, where there is still no interested parties offering to take the popular pool on.
Council leader Vikki Slade said there are alternative ways being looked at to keep Redhill’s park going.
She said: “We haven’t managed to find someone to take it on. But what we have been able to do is reverse some of the decisions around the ground maintenance staff cuts which have allowed them to keep that going.
“We’ve put some money in for this year to help fund things like chemicals.
“But we are going to have to find another way to fund Redhill and if we are going to save it, the only way is to find someone who is ready to take that on, somebody prepared to sponsor it or some way of perhaps looking at payments.
“We’ve had people respond to the consultation to say they’d happily pay £1 or £2 for their children to go in there.
“We are looking at ways we might be able to do something using the café to sell wristbands or tokens to use the paddling pool.”
She added another way to fund Redhill splash park could be through the two ward councillors Stephen Bartlett and Jackie Edwards.
Like all councillors for the next financial year, they will be handed £4,000 each to be put pack into the community as part of a £320k ‘ward improvement fund’.
Cllr Slade added: “I would encourage you to work with your councillors to come up with a solution.”
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