Eastbourne: Confidence grows over Motcombe Pool reopening

Public consultations are under way over the future of Motcombe swimming pool in Eastbourne

The chair of a community interest group in East Sussex has said she is confident it can help reopen a historical swimming pool in the area.

Motcombe Pool in Eastbourne has been closed since 2020, when it shut because of the pandemic.

The group is hoping to reopen the pool, which first opened in 1905, along with a new creative arts and wellbeing hub.

Chair of Motcombe Community Pool CIC Helen Nichols said: "It can have a sustainable future in Eastbourne."

The group hosted two public meetings last week as part of a consultation aimed at hearing ideas and opinions from the public.

'A unique resource'

Mrs Nichols said the group of volunteers wanted to achieve "sustainability in the broadest sense" at the Eastbourne Borough Council-owned site.

She said: "It is so important for the future for those young and old. It is a unique resource which has survived two World Wars and we don't want to lose it now."

The group has applied for funding from the government to help finance the project, and they are hoping to receive the first phase of money in the spring.

Since the site closed there have been calls from residents to keep the historic site in the community.

Mrs Nichols said: "It is a precious resource and [there are] three generations of families that have grown up and learned to swim there."

Eastbourne Borough Council's cabinet member for community spaces, Colin Swansborough, said the council was thrilled to "revive the older connections, and to make new ones, with the community who are inspiring and encouraging the project".

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