Birtley Swimming Centre: Volunteers needed in bid to save it

Birtley Swimming Centre is closing on 21 July, but campaigners hope it will reopen

Campaigners hoping to save an under-threat swimming pool say it could reopen next year if they can recruit skilled volunteers and raise £100,000.

Birtley Swimming Centre is one of two Gateshead Council-run leisure centres due to shut on 21 July in budget cuts.

Gateshead and Whickham Swimming Club (GAW) and Birtley Amateur Swimming Club confirmed they were working on a bid to take community ownership.

The council said financial constraints had forced it into the closures.

Gateshead Leisure Centre is also due to shut this month.

After lodging an initial business case with the council, the clubs said they needed volunteers to take their proposal for a community asset transfer to the next stage.

'Specific skills'

They are appealing for people with human resources, information technology and project management experience to help.

GAW club treasurer Matthew Grant told the Local Democracy Reporting Service volunteers would need to put in an average of a day a week for the next nine months to help get the asset transfer over the line, with hopes the pool could reopen next April.

He also estimated £100,000 would be need to be raised to reopen the facility.

Mr Grant said: "So far it has been quite a small team working on this which is fine for a business case but now we need people with more specific skill sets.

"Nobody was happy with the council decision to close the pool, but we are working with them and they have been supportive of us. They didn't want to close leisure centres, but have been forced to by the financial situation."

A public meeting to discuss plans is being held on 15 July.