Fenham swimming pool to close amid falling numbers

Pool user numbers are falling, organisers said

A swimming pool saved by a community campaign is to close in the face of dwindling popularity and a repair bill estimated at more than £300,000.

Fenham Community Pool in Newcastle shut in 2003 but reopened two years later after volunteers stepped in.

A building inspection has uncovered "significant structural damage" while use of the pool has fallen to "very low levels", Fenham Swimming Project said.

It will shut on 28 July and the lease will be handed back to the council.

Lynne Richardson, chair of group, said: "With the number of pool users dwindling and grants and bid opportunities exhausted we have struggled to generate the resources needed for the pool to stay open.

"The latest information about the problems with the building leave us with no other options."

Fenham Swimming Project said it had informed the Charity Commission the group would be wound down.

Fenham Swimming Project has operated the pool since 2005

The pool hosts swimming lessons for about 700 children each week but sometimes as few as 20 local residents a day are visiting, the project team said.

Alternative pools in the city will be found for swimming groups, they added.

A council spokesman said the authority had provided "specific resource over the last two years which has helped them stay open".

He added: "Once we have assessed the building fully we will work closely with residents and organisations to look at next steps for the site and viable options for its future."