Fundraising Update:
During July we secured a donation of £2,500 from MOTO and launched our Crowdfunding campaign. Or target is to raise £20,000, of which Sport England will contribute £10,000 as long as we raise the other £10,000 from donations and reward purchases made by the local community. We launched the campaign on Friday 19th July and we have raised £6.8k after the first two weeks, so we are well on our target to raise £10,000 by the end of the campaign on Friday 16th August. Once we have reached our Crowdfunding target, we will have secured the required funding to reopen the Birtley Community Pool.
Recruitment Update
Lewis Herbertson, our Senior Operations Manager, started at Birtley Community Pool on July 8th and Amber Barry, our Business Support Officer, started on July 22nd. We have appointed two Duty Managers, Bailey Hooper, who starts on August 5th, and Michael Hume who starts on August 12th. We have interviewed more candidates for Leisure Attendants during the last week, in addition to the six Leisure Attendants who have already been appointed.
Work at Birtley Pool
The replacement of the existing boilers, water heater, storage tanks and ancillary assets at the pool with new, more efficient and reliable equipment has been completed. The recommissioning process started on August 5th, which involved heating the water up to normal temperature, restarting and testing the pool plant including the circulation pumps and testing the water quality, to ensure the pool is ready to use by the start of September.
We have installed new security doors and mesh grills on the windows as well as Wi-Fi and broadband. We have also purchased laptops and other IT equipment for the staff to use. All the lighting has been replaced with more efficient LED lighting which will save at least £10,000 per annum from the electricity cost. Work has started on repairing and refurbishing the water slide which will improve the ride experience and we have also ordered an inflatable obstacle course.
Other work planned during August includes installing new signage inside and outside the pool and redecorating the meeting room, reception area and staff rooms, which will also have new flooring fitted. We will be purchasing new equipment for health and safety, for cleaning the pool and to assist customers with disabilities to access the pool.
Phased reopening during September
We are planning a phased reopening of Birtley Community Pool in September. In the week commencing 2nd September we will have staff training during the day and the swimming clubs will use the pool in the early mornings and evenings. We plan to open the pool for public swimming, public swimming lessons and lessons for the local schools in the week commencing 16th September.
Term time pool timetable
As a charity, Birtley Community Aquatic Centre has to balance the mix of pool activities between generating enough money to cover the pool’s operating costs, so we can keep it open, and providing a good range of water-based activities for everyone. The trustees represent a wide variety of pool users (e.g. public swimmers, parents with children who swim, club/competitive swimmers) and trying to provide a pool timetable that meets both of these requirements has been a challenge.
The term time pool timetable therefore includes significant time booked for school and public swimming lessons and club activities, which will bring in guaranteed income. We have also ensured that there are still plenty of opportunities for lane swimming, public swimming, and aquafit during the week, and for family swimming and children’s activities at the weekend.
After much discussion, we have managed to get a pool timetable organised (subject to change) that we believe will meet the needs of all the different customer groups whilst also making enough income to keep the doors open. We are also developing a school holidays timetable which we will share when it is finalised. This will include more time for public swimming, children’s activities, family swimming, and lane swimming. As there will be no school or public swimming lessons during the school holiday periods.
On behalf of the Birtley Community Aquatic Centre CIO trustee board
Yvonne Probert – Chair
Matthew Grant – Treasurer