Stanhope swimming pool seeks volunteers to keep it afloat

Stanhope Open Air Swimming Pool opened in 1974

A popular open-air swimming pool is seeking more volunteers to help keep it accessible in the future.

More than 8,000 people have visited the pool in Stanhope, Weardale, so far this summer, double the number of 2021.

But the team behind the pool is thin on the ground and needs new members, manager Ruth Haynes said, while a lifeguard shortage has also restricted the number of swimmers it can admit.

It opened in 1974 and £300,000 is being raised to buy the land it sits on.

The 25m-long pool is nearing the end of its 50-year lease on the site and more volunteers for its committee are needed to help raise funds and plan its future, Ms Haynes said.

"We have the lowest number of active committee members and volunteers that we have ever had," she said, adding: "With a proper team of people splitting the responsibilities between them we would be able to push forward and pursue the grants we need to secure our future in the dale."

The 25m long pool is heated and has a deeper section for diving

The pool, which is heated to about 28C, is only open over the summer months and its busiest season several years ago saw some 10,000 visitors in 14 weeks.

Ms Haynes said it could allow 90 swimmers a time during that record-setting year, but a shortage of lifeguards has limited that to 60 this summer.

She said the pool was "incredibly important" for Weardale and County Durham and works with Durham County Council to run drowning prevention sessions with schools.

Ms Haynes said it had also been used by "generations" of holidaymakers visiting Weardale's caravan park and attracted a lot of people to the area who went on to support other local businesses.

This is the final week of the pool's general swimming sessions for the season.