Campaign to reopen town's pool gains momentum

Gary Feldman said the turnout at the meeting showed the strength of feeling in the town

A campaign to reopen a Borders leisure centre has gathered pace after close to 1,000 supporters packed into a public meeting.

The Laidlaw Memorial Leisure Centre in Jedburgh closed last November when its operating trust became insolvent.

A hike in energy prices and staff costs, coupled with a reduction in footfall since the pandemic, were blamed for annual losses of up to £50,000.

Gary Feldman, who chairs Jedburgh Community Council, is leading the campaign to reopen the facility. He said: "Opening the swimming pool is seen as vital for everyone who has come to this meeting."

He said he hoped the turnout would show Scottish Borders Council (SBC) that reopening the site should be a priority.

As the facility is owned by the local authority it has been included in a regionwide review of all leisure facilities, which is due to be published in April.

With a further six pools, which are managed by Live Borders, recording combined losses of £1.3 million during 2023/24 - Hawick (£547,000), Eyemouth (£265,000), Peebles (£193,000), Kelso (£152,000), Selkirk (£91,000) and Galashiels (£69,000) - there remains uncertainty about the future of all the leisure centres.

Hundreds of people attended the meeting in Jedburgh to discuss the fate of its swimming pool

Despite the financial situation, Borders MSP Rachael Hamilton believes Jedburgh pool should reopen.

She said: "I am fully behind the 1,000 or so people who came along to this meeting.

"One of the key points that was made was that it is vital that all of the children in the town learn to swim.

"We don't yet know what the review of facilities will say, but if there's a will there's a way - and we saw here tonight there is certainly a will."

MSP Rachael Hamilton said she believed the pool should reopen

It is understood that a building survey as part of the review has found structural problems.

As well as issues with the roof, internal problems have also been identified.

Jedburgh councillor Scott Hamilton said: "The condition of the building is much worse than we originally thought - that shouldn't prevent us developing a full business case to take to SBC.

"It is important we show the level of support there is for this pool."

SBC said a series of "evidence-based, data-driven proposals" would be put forward once it had completed its wider review of facilities.

It said that would be followed by community engagement in the late spring and summer.

"This work is aimed at keeping services accessible, relevant and cost-effective, while adapting to social and economic changes," said a spokesman.

"It also aims to establish a sustainable sport, leisure and culture property estate that maximises community impact while reducing financial and operational burdens."