The Village Plan emphasised that a swimming pool was a priority, but the Committee is still holding its breath for anything to come of that assertion. We really are past the use it or lose it point, but the Pool, which has been open to the village since the mid-1960s and has been used by thousands of swimmers, could still be saved.

What we need now, are some new committee members with some great ideas for raising the necessary funds to refurb the pool and get us up and running for 2011. Any volunteers among Primary School parents? Think about it, once your kids leave the Primary, they’ll have nowhere open-air to swim.

As well as good ideas and short-term fundraising, there must be a firm commitment of time from future rota organisers, supervisors for the sessions where children swim, swimmers for all sessions and ideally volunteer lifeguards too, because the number of people doing these things has been insufficient in the past few years and is the main reason why we’ve not had full value from the pool maintenance. To get full value from the maintenance we’d need the pool to be open for longer each day, but we’ve not been able to afford that or get enough volunteers to do it for free.

Several members of the current committee have been running the Pool on a voluntary basis for at least a decade and some for two decades, it’s time for new people to step up to the mark and dive in, figuratively speaking. The Village works incredibly hard to pull off FEFF and other events and to raise money for the Community Centre, isn’t there anyone with marketing, campaigning and fund-raising experience who enjoys swimming al fresco, who can help us swim and not sink?

If you have comments or suggestions for funding, then please either record them on this page or by emailing cottenhamlifeguards@hotmail.com. Offers to raise funds, conduct a local survey or lead the effort to get the pool refurbished would be particularly welcome. Cottenham Village College Site Staff have offered help in organising the refurbishment but the College cannot provide funding (it does not currently use the pool), so the community must find funding in order to keep the pool open.  

Detailed information about the pool status follows.

The volunteer committee that runs Cottenham pool has been fundraising over the summer in order to raise ‘seed capital’ for a refurbishment grant. Many thanks to all supporters of the pool for your efforts, whether via cake baking, sponsored swims, personal donations and other actions.

Unfortunately, the pool should be completely replaced, not just repaired,  since it is in a far worse state than was previously thought. So the grant that we were aiming for is too small to refurbish the pool completely for the long term. (It is very unlikely that we would be awarded any grant for a temporary refurbishment, since temporary refurbishment would give poor value for money. Also, it is unclear that a temporary repair is even possible.)

Refurbishing the pool, to maintain an outdoor heated swimming pool that is open to the public in Cottenham as in the past few years, would cost about 55 thousand pounds. This refurbishment would include replacement of the pool structure (with a concrete shell that should last several decades). It would also include improvements to the changing rooms to provide separate areas for adults and children, and improvements to the filter system. It would not include additional facilities such as showers and lockers, or other changes to the site infrastructure.

What do you think? Should the pool be refurbished as an outdoor pool and maintained by volunteers as currently? Should the entry fees for swimmers be raised so that they cover the cost of running the pool, even if that means doubling the cost of a swim (or a larger increase if we lose our volunteer lifeguard, supervisors and admin staff)? Or would you rather have the pool subsidised via public funds, meaning higher taxes or less public money being spent elsewhere? If we aim to refurbish the pool by winning a grant, then we need answers to the question of future funding.

Over the years, some Cottenham residents have suggested that an indoor pool would be preferable. Would you volunteer to help run the pool if it were an indoor one ? In order to run a pool for 12 months of the year, we would need at least three times as many volunteers as we have now. Do you believe that there is ‘evidence of need’ for an indoor pool in Cottenham? Would you use an indoor pool more than an outdoor one? How often would you use each type of pool? Would you use the pool more if it offered extra activities, e.g. aquarobics, beginners’ sub-aqua, water polo, canoeing? Which activities are of greatest interest? Would you pay extra to use sauna or jacuzzi facilities if they were available?

Does the size and depth of the pool matter? In some circumstances, pools that are small (in surface area) and shallow have different staffing requirements to larger ones. Would you be just as happy with a pool measuring 20 metres by 8 metres and 1 metre deep, as with a slightly larger, deeper pool? Would you prefer a pool that is shallow throughout, since that may be safer for young children? 

Our pool has been at a disadvantage recently because free swimming for certain groups has been introduced in council-run pools. There is no equivalent scheme for volunteer-run pools (i.e. a volunteer-run pool cannot claim a subsidy if it provides free swimming for Senior Citizens or children). Would you prefer to see a pool run by a local Council? (That might not be possible on the existing site, which is part of Cottenham Village College grounds, but we are contemplating such a large project that we need to consider many possibilities.)

Many thanks to our first sponsored swimmer, who has raised more than 50 pounds towards pool refurbishment!

To take part, collect your sponsor form from the pool, choose your swimming target, and collect sponsor pledges. Come to the pool on a weekday with your sponsor form filled in, and you can swim your sponsored lengths for free (we will set up a swimming lane for you if needed).

This 23m by 9m heated pool is run by local volunteers – as the CVC Swimming Pool Association – not the College or S Cambs DC.

Prices for 2009

Adults: £2.50
Concessions (children and senior citizens): £2.00
Pre-schoolers (under-5): FREE

Timetable for 2009 (valid until 17 July – after 17 July, the weekday General Swim moves to be the same times as on Saturday and Sunday, i.e. 1:30-2:30pm and then 3-4pm.)

Thanks for your support!

There will be no swimming on Saturday 13th June because no lifeguard is available for that day.  Saturday 6th and Sunday 7th June will have sessions as normal, but numbers will be restricted since there may be only one lifeguard on duty that day.

We still need supervisors, particularly for Saturdays from 21 June onwards.

Thanks for your support!