Swimming club chairman welcomes council’s action over Kirkham baths

A leading swimming club member has welcomed Fylde Council’s move to officially regain ownership of the Kirkham Pool site – but he believes a longer term vision is needed.

The swimming baths have been closed since storm damage in December 2021, when strong winds blew part of the building’s roof off.

Regular users have been waiting ever since for their beloved baths to welcome them back through the doors – but it then emerged that additional works would be required, beyond the roof repair, which put the cost out of reach for its former charity operators, YMCA Fylde Coast.

Now previous owner Fylde Council is looking to get the pool open again, with funds being made available for both emergency repairs and annual maintenance.

However, the main bill to get the 109 year old building on Station Road back into use has now been put at £3million, a sum that Fylde is looking to find after a National Lottery bid proved unsuccessful.

Nick White, chairman of Kirkham and Wesham Swimming Club, has been following the fate of the amenity since having to relocate the swimming club to the YMCA pool at St Annes.

A keen campaigner to get the pool repaired and reopened, he said: “It is welcome news that Fylde Council are trying to take action and get the pool back up and running.

“Unfortunately, it has been left to rot for the past four years and will take an awful lot of work and funds to get reopened.

“The Kirkham and Wesham area desperately needs a pool, there are lots of young children who are close to the sea and rivers and really need to know how to swim.

“We’ve managed to keep our club going and have gone from strength to strength now, the club has really grown. But it hasn’t been easy.

“I think in the shorter term, getting Kirkham reopened is a priority.

“For the long term, I think there needs to be a bid to organisations like Sport England to try and build a new, modern facility, with proper, decent-sized gym amenities and a full sized pool , close to AFC Fylde, where there is plenty of space.

“The old pool site is a beautiful building but in the current era it is out of date and not really big enough or up-to-date enough for modern sporting requirements.

“In the future, a larger venue could hold major events like swimming competitions and it would soon recoup the money spent on it.

“In the short-term, I wish the council well in their efforts. We desperately need a pool back in Kirkham and Wesham.”

Ahead of the transfer, Fylde Council approved £150,000 from its capital investment reserve for urgent building preservation works, and an annual budget of £75,000 has been set aside for ongoing maintenance while the pool remains vacant. These protective measures build on the YMCA’s earlier efforts to safeguard the site and demonstrate the council’s commitment to keeping every option open for swimming in Kirkham and rural Fylde.

Recent surveys show that fully refurbishing the building would now cost around £3 million, an increase from £2.62 million due to the building’s condition and rising material costs. While the recent bid for National Lottery Heritage Fund support was unsuccessful, the council continues to actively explore other funding and partnership opportunities to help bring this community asset back to life.

At the same time, the tender process to appoint an operator for St Annes Pool is almost complete. This tender includes an option for the chosen provider to run Kirkham Pool as well, if future funding can be secured.

Councillor Jayne Nixon, Lead Member for Tourism, Leisure and Culture, said: “We know how much the pool means to local people and we share the community’s ambition to see it reopen. Every month the site sits empty, the risks and costs grow, and that’s why we’re pushing ahead urgently to find practical, sustainable options, including a joint operation with St Annes Pool.”

Councillor Karen Buckley, Leader of the Council, added: “Taking back ownership of Kirkham Pool shows our determination to do everything we can to see swimming return.

“Whilst our ambition remains undimmed, the business case and funding options cannot be concluded until final tenders are received on the operation of both St Annes and Kirkham Pools. Those tenders will set out the costs of managing the pools and investment options.”