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Campaigners keen to revive closed swimming pool

Curtis LancasterSouth of England
News imageElizabeth Mills Elizabeth Mills with her children and partner holding signs saying "we love swimming" and "save QE"Elizabeth Mills
Swim coach Elizabeth Mills and her family have opposed the pool closure

A campaign group says it has produced plans to re-open a community swimming pool which shut in 2024.

The Queen Elizabeth Leisure Centre in Wimborne, Dorset, which is part of the Queen Elizabeth School, closed permanently two years ago despite local protests.

Elizabeth Mills a swimming coach and part of the QE action group, said a proposal for the unused swimming pool at the facility to open for a six-month trial has been put to the Initio Learning Trust, which runs the school.

"The pool is ready to go tomorrow and we can bring it back to life," she said.

News imageElizabeth Mills A crowd of people gathered and holding placards.Elizabeth Mills
Campaigners are hopeful the pool can open for a six-month trial

Mills said: "There is a lack of pool time in the area for the schools and the public.

"We know it can be used, we just want to get into it."

If the trial is approved it will mean the pool will be used by swimming schools and swimming clubs between October 2026 and March 2027.

Mills believes it is an opportunity to show the trust that the pool is financially viable and she hoped it will then remain open for the foreseeable future.

"This is the first time we've had the opportunity to save the pool and we just hope that it's going to go ahead," she said.

News imageWimborne Wagtails Two women in a swimming pool, one is stood with goggles around her neck and laughing while another is swimming beside her while using a noodle shaped float.Wimborne Wagtails
Wimborne Wagtails is one of the groups committed to the pool reopening

Nine swim schools and clubs have pledged their money up front for the trial.

Wimborne Wagtails, a swimming club for people with disabilities is taking part in the campaign.

Its swimmer had been using the Queen Elizabeth pool for more than 30 years before its closure.

Alexandra Tuckey is treasurer and secretary for the club, she said: "We do really want to come back to Queen Elizabeth's, that's where we've always been."

She said they previously had exclusive use of the pool for their session but now have to swim in public sessions in Ferndown.

"It's not ideal for our disabled swimmers," she said.

Tuckey called the new proposals "a fantastic opportunity" and she hoped it would lay the groundwork for the pool to open to the public in the future as well.

She added: "It's really important that the public are aware of this.

"It's a scandal really. Why close a perfectly good pool?"

A spokesperson for Initio Learning Trust, said: "Since Dorset Council withdrew funding for the leisure centre in 2024, the pool remains closed.

"We are currently exploring the options for the future of the pool at QE and will be updating the community in due course."