Paralympic champion joins calls for a new 50m pool for Northampton

World para-swimming and Paralympic champion Masie Summers-Newton is one of the swimmers to come through the Northampton club

Paralympic champion swimmer Maisie Summers-Newton and her coach have joined calls for a new 50-metre pool in Northampton.

Andy Sharp, from Northampton Swimming Club, said it did not have its "own home where we can host competitions".

"It would be nice one day, if the town of Northampton could have its own competition pool," he said.

West Northamptonshire Council said it would not rule out future plans for a competition-sized pool.

The standard length for international competitions is 50 metres - and the only pool that length in Northamptonshire is in Corby.

Mr Sharp said the club only have access to that pool between 05:00 and 07:00 on Thursday mornings.

"So our members are getting up really early to travel over there, so we only had the chance to swim in a 50-metre pool once a week," he said.

"I have been banging the drum along with the every other swimming coach that has led the Northampton Swimming Club programme for the last 30 years that Northampton needs a [50-metre] pool."

Mounts Baths pool in Northampton which the club use is 30m long

The swimming club currently trains in seven different pools across Northamptonshire, but is mainly based at the Mounts Baths in Northampton.

Opened originally in October 1936, the Grade II listed building is considered one of the best Art Deco pools in the country, but is only 30 metres long.

"There are no competitions that are high level that you race in a [30-metre] pool," he said.

Summers-Newton, who won two gold medals at the Tokyo Paralympics, said: "We've got so many different athletes, five of us on world class programmes - and I feel that having a 50-metre pool and a place where we can all go and fully focused on our sport would be incredible."

She said that because the club used public and school pools, they often had to train early in the morning or in the evenings.

The world champion said a new 50-metre pool would allow swimmers to "be a lot more flexible with our training times and make it a lot easier for us".

Andy Sharp from Northampton Swimming Club said the members only use a 50-metre pool once a week

The deputy leader of Conservative-led West Northamptonshire Council, Adam Brown, said there was "growing demand for swimming space in Northampton".

"We continue to review swimming facilities in the area and while there are no plans to develop a 50m swim facility at present, this is not ruled out for the future," he said.

He said the council was committed to helping the "great work carried out by Northampton Swimming Club and their continued training and developing of elite athletes".

A spokesperson from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), said: "Learning to swim is a vital life skill.

"We recognise the role our public pools play in supporting the health and fitness of the nation, and our aim is to get 3.5 million more adults and children active by 2030.

"Local authorities are responsible for the construction of public swimming pools and leisure centres, however we do recognise the current challenges existing facilities are facing - that is why we have stepped in with an £80m fund to keep almost 450 pools open, support their operating costs and improve energy efficiency."