Westbury community campus plan brings pool closure fears

There are concerns that plans for a community campus in Westbury could see the closure of the town's 125-year old swimming pool.

The proposals will bring together council services, the police and leisure facilities.

Three options are being considered, including one which involves replacing the pool with a modern facility.

Westbury Swimming Club said it would "resist" closure, but a spokesman said it was "right" to offer a new pool.

Neil Tribick from the swimming club said: "There has been 125 years of continuous swimming in that pool so we would resist change on the basis that the town has benefited from the pool for many years, and should continue to do so for a good many to come."

'Old and small'

Mr Tribick added the building is "structurally sound" and said Wiltshire Council had recently spent £300,000 on upgrading the pool so "it is in better condition than it has been for some time".

Mike Parker of the Westbury Community Operations Board, which has been set up by Wiltshire Council to consult on the campus development, said the pool is "old and small" and lacked facilities such as a cafe.

He said: "We feel it's right to offer the town a modern pool."

But Mr Parker stressed that two other options being considered for the scheme do not include the closure of the pool, and a consultation into the plans runs until the end of November.

The Westbury community campus is one of 20 planned across the county.