Pool row threatens swimming club lessons

A swimming club that has run lessons at a local pool for decades has been told it may have to stop, following a dispute with the organisation running the leisure centre.

Penrith Swimming Club has been told it does not have a formal agreement in place to stage its classes in the teaching pool at Penrith Leisure Centre, and that doing so is resulting in extra costs for the venue.

Greenwich Leisure Limited (GLL), which operates the site on behalf of Westmorland and Furness Council - and also offers learner swim sessions, said it would continue discussions with the club in the coming weeks.

The council told BBC Radio Cumbria it was "exploring options to formalise future partnership arrangements".

Luke Brown, an instructor and committee member at the 145-year-old swimming club, was shocked when the club was informed it could no longer hold classes there earlier this month.

He said the club had strong links to the facility, where its name is displayed on a commemorative plaque, having donated £40,000 towards the creation of the learner pool some years ago.

"We've always had a really strong relationship with the council.

"They've always been on our side, as we've financially backed a lot of things in the leisure centre and partly-funded the teaching pool. Because of that, we've almost had some Grandfather rights.

"We've had an agreement with the council that our relationship would be sustained, and that we'd have access at certain times that wouldn't be given away to other user groups."

The club's members are poised to return to the pool next month following the summer break, but the dispute could see the informal arrangement brought to an end in late December.

Brown alleges GLL is trying to "remove competition" in order to promote its own swimming lessons, following an email received by the club which stated "allowing a third-party to provide an equivalent service within the same facility creates duplication and confusion for local residents".

GLL, a charitable social enterprise which runs almost 400 public facilities nationwide, said it valued "all our pool users" and had discussed with the club "how we can retain their involvement for the benefit of swimmers", telling the BBC that talks between the two parties are continuing.

In a separate statement, the council said its focus "remains on finding a positive and sustainable way forward", adding: "We absolutely want to ensure there is no threat to the future of the swimming club."

It said the review of the learn-to-swim programme was "part of a wider standardisation process across GLL's leisure portfolio".

It added: "We are exploring options to formalise future partnership arrangements through an appropriate community-use agreement and to strengthen the club's role within the wider swimming pathway."

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