Swimming club speaks out over Richmond Swimming Pool closure concerns

A swimming club which has trained Olympic and Paralympic swimmers has warned that the ongoing closure of Richmond Swimming Pool is threatening its future.

Richmond Dales Amateur Swimming Club said the issues faced by the facility were “placing swimmer retention and the long-term sustainability of the club at risk”.

The pool, which together with the neighbouring gym is now officially called Richmond Leisure and Wellbeing Hub, is currently closed after part of the ceiling collapsed.

North Yorkshire Council, which owns the building, is currently assessing the scale of the problem and has launched a consultation on the future of the site.

Liz Byrne, chair of the swimming club, which has more than 150 members and is due to celebrate its 50th anniversary next year, said she was “deeply concerned” by the situation. She said: “The impact of losing the pool is multiple and significant to our swimmers and their families, and one we are trying to manage with restricted access to training. This is already placing swimmer retention and the long-term sustainability of the club at risk. Whilst we have secured support from Catterick Leisure Centre and the Dolphin Centre, having to go to Darlington has been hugely disruptive, particularly to our top squads, including mainstream and para swimmers.”

The club chair said Richmond Dales was home to the largest para-swimming team in the North of England. She added: “21 para swimmers travel locally and from across the region, often over an hour’s journey multiple times a week, to access what they describe as a unique and life-changing environment. For many of our para swimmers, Richmond Dales ASC is the only place where they feel free, included, and able to truly be themselves. What would these children and young people do instead?”

The club has written to local councillors and Richmond and Northallerton MP Rishi Sunak raising the club’s concerns.

Richmond division councillor Stuart Parsons said: “Aside from regular individual users, the current closure of Richmond Swimming Pool is having a massively negative impact on the hugely successful Richmond and Dales Swimming Club. Their role in nurturing talent and helping young people reach their full potential is vital and North Yorkshire Council must ensure that everything is done to reopen the pool as soon as possible.”

A spokesperson for Rishi Sunak’s constituency office said the MP had written to the council raising his concerns about the future.

Councillor Simon Myers, North Yorkshire Council executive member for culture, arts and housing, has said that it was “very frustrating” that the problems with the pool had emerged. He said the council did not want to permanently close the pool, but the authority needed to look at the options.