Green Party Councillor Sarah Hopewell, East Herts District Council Executive Member for Wellbeing, provides an update on Fanshawe Pool in Ware.
Following the recent Facebook post from MP Josh Dean about the possibility of Exceptional Circumstances funding (from the Department for Education), we know people might have had raised hopes about the future of Fanshawe. For this reason, Green Party councillors felt it was important to share an update on the situation, and to clarify that the pool owner, Chauncy School, has confirmed Fanshawe will be closing after Sunday 22 December.
The school is in a challenging situation, having inherited an already ageing pool in 2012 when the school became an academy. In 2016/2017, under the Conservative administration, East Herts District Council undertook a review of all five council-operated facilities to develop a plan for what should happen next.
As part of this review, the option of investing in Fanshawe was considered seriously. However, with the pool owned by the school, with the ongoing uncertainty around the Department for Education (DfE) funding, and with nearby Hartham Leisure Centre already earmarked for an extensive refurbishment, the option to invest in Fanshawe was eventually decided against. Full details of this paper are available here.
After Hertfordshire County Council shared that the DfE funding would be coming to an end, councillors started looking at other potential options. However, the loss of DfE funding posed a significant barrier, as this covered 40% of the running costs for the facility.
Green-led Ware Town Council support
Shortly after the closure plans were first announced in October, Green-led Ware Town Council contacted the school and offered to provide two years of funding of up to £120,000 per annum to replace the annual grant from the DfE. The aim was to buy extra time to allow a community solution to be found.
Unfortunately, the cost of pending and future capital works remains significant. Two separate condition surveys found costs to the tune of around £700,000 over the next five years. These urgent and ongoing costs were a major concern to the school, and they felt that without any viable long-term options, any extension from Ware Town Council’s grant would only be buying time before the pool would then inevitably close.
Exceptional Circumstances funding
Towards the end of November, we learnt from MP Josh Dean that Hertfordshire County Council could apply for Exceptional Circumstances funding. Ware Town Council indicated that they would still be happy to offer their grant too. However, while as councillors we were hopeful that this could provide a short-term reprieve, we were also not the ones who would be responsible for costs if no long-term solution could be found. It was also unclear how much the Exceptional Circumstances funding would be, what it would cover, and when decisions would be made. With so many unknowns, and with the responsibility for costs ultimately resting with them, the school felt they could not take on this risk and has confirmed their decision to close it.
Leader of Ware Town Council, Cllr Thomas Day, adds: “Fanshawe Pool & Gym is a much-loved and well-used community facility, enjoyed by generations of Ware residents, past and present, and the home of Ware Swimming Club. Its closure will be an immeasurable loss for the town at a time when budgets are being squeezed and services are being cut back everywhere you look.
We had sincerely hoped that Ware Town Council’s offer to replicate the Department for Education’s funding would create the space to enable a long-term rescue plan to be formed, one that could have preserved the facility for generations to come, but we fully appreciate the many challenges that stand in the way of achieving this.”
“We are bitterly disappointed a solution could not be found to keep the pool open, but remain ready to facilitate a future at Fanshawe should the situation change even at this late stage. We likewise remain dedicated to investing in our community and ensuring our town continues to be a fantastic place to live and work for all.”
Ware Town Council has invested significantly in the facilities and services it provides for the community and, over the course of the last few years, has delivered a number of ambitious projects, including the refurbishment of the Priory Lido pool, a new skate park and play park in the Priory grounds, an extensive programme of events for the community and an annual community grant fund of nearly £40,000. This year will see the launch of the ‘Ware Shares’ Library of Things, the refurbishment and reopening of the public toilets in the Priory grounds and the comprehensive refurbishment of the Priory Lido building.