Club welcomes moves to keep southern pool open

A survival plan secured the Southern Swimming Pool's future until 31 March 2025

A Manx swimming club has welcomed a “temporary reprieve” for its home pool after it had faced closure.

The Department of Education, Sport and Culture (Desc) had recommended that the Southern Swimming Pool close on 31 March due to shortfall in subsidies for regional facilities.

After a survival plan put together by local politicians and the pool's board was accepted, the department agreed to continue the existing £434,000 annual subsidy so the facility could operate until March 2025.

But the Southern IOM Amateur Swimming Club said it had been a "worrying time" for younger members.

An annual government subvention of about £1.7m is paid to prop up the island's three sites, run by local authorities in the south, north, and west - a figure that includes £0.6m for loan repayments for the northern and western facilities.

In a government report into the affordability of regional pools, the Desc said it said it could not take charge of the regional facilities, alongside the government-run National Sports Centre pool, due to budget constraints.

The investigation went on to recommend the closure of the southern pool, which shut for three weeks in mid-December over safety concerns related to its lighting, and reallocation of funding to support the northern and western facilities.

'Cautiously optimistic'

Speaking in the House of Keys earlier this week about the acceptance of the rescue plan, Desc Minister Julie Edge said the facility's uncertain future was "counterbalanced" with plans for a six-lane pool for Castle Rushen High School due for completion 2029.

The swimming club, which has about 100 members, said it "strongly urged" interested parties to continue to engage in an "open and constructive manner" so the community and members can benefit from the existing pool in the interim period.

The club said it had been a "particularly worrying time" for younger members, concerned about missing lessons and club swimming.

But it said it was looking forward to things returning to normal and was “cautiously optimistic” about the pool staying open after 31 March 2025.