It’s frankly madness. That’s why I got involved.
“A desire for a pool has been
NEW POOL TRUSTEES N
Phil Scoble Pic Phil took
ew Dartmouth and District Indoor Swimming Pool Trustees David Shaw and
Ray Bridges sit surveying the land that will hold the new Dartmouth Swimming Pool. They are relaxed when we speak about the project, and project real passion, commitment and confi- dence.
David and Ray joined the small group of dedicated campaigners led by Sir Geoffrey Newman in January. Both felt they wanted to help the town’s dream project finally come into being. Leeds-born David is a former financial consultant and property developer who has worked with some of the biggest names in finance and insurance. He moved to Dartmouth in 2006 after keeping a boat on the river for a number of years, and has always felt that a swimming pool would be a wonderful thing for the town, he said.
“I saw the advert for trustees and the other publicity and thought it would be good to get involved,” he said. “It’s something I believe Dartmouth needs and I think it’s wonderful to be involved with such a positive project that will help the town. People desperately want to see a pool here.”
Ray might be forgiven for not
wanting to become involved in an- other large scale campaign to build a large public building, having been part of the Flavel project from its conception as an idea, through its build and then leading it through its first two years.
“A desire for a pool has been part of the fabric of the town for decades and now we all truly believe that we are going to achieve it.”
However, he said that the pool was such an important project he did not hesitate when considering whether to join the trustees. “I wanted to be involved because it is such a vital project,” he said. “The people of Dartmouth have been hoping for a covered pool for more than 60 years.
“I worked out recently that every- one in Dartmouth is paying £1 a week to run the South Hams’ other pools through their council tax, and yet we, with hundreds of children crossing the Dart each day, and thousands of people using the har- bour for leisure and work, have no where to teach our children to swim year round - the outdoor pool is only open for 14 weeks of the year.
part of the fabric of the town for de- cades and now we all truly believe that we are going to achieve it.” A design for the pool is now being finalised before going to the planners, and the hope is the build will begin by late summer. The trustees are confident the pool’s business plan will allow it to be cost ‘neutral’ – or pay for itself through revenue and fundraising - but have been boosted by Dartmouth Town Council agreeing to make discre- tionary funds available to help with running costs for the pool’s first ten years of operation, as an extra safeguard.
David has taken on special responsibility for fundraising for the new pool, to provide equipment and other extras for the benefit of all. He is putting together a fund- raising plan and said he hoped to attract the help of community members to push on as the pool is being built. “We are putting the finishing touches on a plan which will set up a number of large and small scale events through the next year to help buy special high quality equip- ment,” he said. “We are a small bunch of trustees and are looking for community members to help us achieve something which will benefit all of us.” Ray said he felt Dartmouth wanted a pool, deserved a pool and now had the means to have a pool. “We are so confident now, and it is only right that a town which is a centre for watersports has a covered, heated swimming pool,” he said. “I have two grandchildren and all I want is to be able to sit and watch them having a great time, learning to swim in their home town. I don’t think that’s too much to ask, and I think its going to happen in the next twelve months.”•
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