Minehead Swimming & Leisure

The Minehead Pool project came to us in 2019. A passionate group of locals had been campaigning for a community-owned and run pool in Minehead since 2017, after the closure of the Local Authority pool.

Since working with us they have converted their Community Interest Company to a Community Benefit Society (better suited to a growing membership and a capital intensive objective) and built essential relationships with Local Authorities and other key stakeholders. This has resulted in the Local Authority ring-fencing a piece of land for a swimming pool in a prime location. There is still work to be done to ensure this piece of land to signed over to the CBS. However, the support for a new community-owned pool in Minehead is strong and encouraging.

The CBS will provide the community with:

• A pool for school children who do not have easy access to swimming lessons
• Provision for low impact exercise; Minehead’s population, as a whole, is older than the national average
• A pool for groups who run activities for people with learning disabilities
• Access to health and well-being facilities.

The Minehead Pool project is an excellent example of where a community has come together to bring back a town amenity, that they lost and miss. Their ambition is huge, but they see the incredible potential in community ownership.

Alex Lawrie ~SWCD

I would like to thank Rob for his work in preparing the funding applications that led to a successful result and his communications with the donor, not least his last-minute handling of the urgent review process last month

Emma – MS&L