City council 'won't pay' for hydrotherapy pool

Council leader Shabina Qayyum said she wanted to support hydrotherapy provision in Peterborough

The leader of a city council says it will not fund a new hydrotherapy pool but there are "interested parties" and "options on the table".

Shabina Qayyum, Labour leader of Peterborough City Council, said the authority "won't be paying" to replace a council-owned facility but it was looking at "supporting private entities" willing to provide one.

In 2022, the council confirmed its St George's community hydrotherapy pool would not reopen after a survey said repairs would cost more than £270,000. It then agreed to demolish it.

But Karen Oldale, leader of the Friends of St George's, said she was "cautious but optimistic" hydrotherapy would return to the city after meeting with Dr Qayyum.

St George's community hydrotherapy pool was demolished after closing permanently in 2022

She said the group had been given "encouragement" for the first time since their former home closed five years ago, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Dr Qayyum, who is also a GP, said she "wholeheartedly" recognised the importance of hydrotherapy, which involves light exercise in warm water.

The NHS said buoyancy, resistance and warm water can have a "positive influence on the rehabilitation of patients" with conditions that affect the nerves and muscles.

Dr Qayyum said: "I feel that it reduces the burden on the health service and it also reduces the burden on the adult social care service if we get people who are more mobile, who become more independent.

"I would certainly establish hydrotherapy as a priority. Whether that is achievable under my leadership remains to be seen."

She has, though, suggested it would not form part of a new £36m swimming pool planned to replace the regional pool on Bishop's Road, demolished after the discovery of Raac and other structural issues.

Different specifications needed for height, pool temperature and maintenance meant it was "not achievable" to combine the projects, she said.

The council continues to face financial challenges, with £13.5m debt reported in August.

The users' group has continued to campaign for hydrotherapy provision.

'Devastating impact'

"If I had a pound for every time someone wrote to me and said they were desperate, I could probably pay for the pool," Ms Oldale said.

She added some people had reported becoming bed-bound or being unable to have operations "because they've gained so much weight" since its closure.

"It's had a devastating impact," she said.

Plans for a private hydrotherapy pool at Thistlemoor Medical Centre on Lincoln Road have previously been approved by the council, but work is yet to begin.