'Pool closure is very scary and a profound loss'

The closure of a swimming pool has been described as "very scary and a profound loss" for children, disabled people, and those who used it for physical rehabilitation.

Babergh District Council said it shut the 39-year-old pool at Kingfisher Leisure Centre, in Sudbury, Suffolk, to ensure the "safety of swimmers".

The decision was made after surveys revealed a planned £875,000 programme of repairs and maintenance would not be sufficient and a complete rebuild was needed.

Residents have told the BBC the sudden closure of the pool, sauna and hot tub have caused upset in the town. The council said it, too, was "devastated" and shared the community's sadness, but it had "no alternative".

Dan Cotton, 53, recalled "how excited" he was when the pool first opened nearly four decades ago, describing it as "breathtaking" and like "nothing we'd had before".

For him and his friends it was the "perfect place to meet up with friends and have fun" – something he said the younger generation of today will miss out on.

"When I read it was shutting down I was sad because if it gave me that much joy then it must have given the same joy to thousands of other people," he said.

"Without a pool in Sudbury, children will miss out and it could lead to more people swimming in the river, which doesn't always end well.

"I just hope they can rebuild it to be as good if not better than the Kingfisher I knew and loved."

For Laura Allen, who has started a petition campaigning against the closure, the pool proved vital after she had a motorcycle accident and broke her femur 10 years ago.

"I ended up having to use the pool to kind of get back on my feet and I don't know how I would have coped if it had happened now," the 35-year-old said.

"I couldn't drive. I was in a wheelchair and relied on friends and family to take me places - it was just convenient that it was literally a mile or two down the road."

Allen has also long-used the pool in her capacity as a carer and committee member for the Avocet Swimming and Social Group, which supports people with disabilities.

"It is a lovely little group of up to 30 people with carers and it is like a little safe haven for them where they don't have to worry about people's reactions," she said.

"Everyone is really nice and friendly and so I was devastated and I couldn't believe it [when I heard the pool was closing].

"Disabled swimming groups are dwindling and now I can understand why - it has become very scary and a profound loss for the Sudbury community."

According to Swim England, the average life of a pool is 38 years, meaning Kingfisher – due to turn 40 next year - has exceeded expectation.

The national governing body for swimming's Decade of Decline report from 2021 also warned that about 2,000 pools could be lost by 2030 and has suggested £1bn of government investment is required to build new pools and refurbish existing ones.

The problems faced by Kingfisher are, therefore, "not unique", according to councillor Laura Smith, cabinet member for thriving communities.

"We have seen other leisure pools built in the 1980s suffer from similar issues, with ageing structures reaching the end of their useful life," she said.

Colin Plumb, whose three children all learnt to swim at the pool, questioned why the council did not act sooner to prevent the town from being left without a pool.

"The immediate closure may have been unavoidable, but my concern is how we got to this point," the 51-year-old said.

"If you know an asset is approaching the end of its expected life, you should be planning and making financial provision for its replacement.

"It's going to have an extremely negative effect, especially on young people, and with other swimming facilities disappearing, we can't just accept losing this one as well."

The pool had previously been closed in 2024 for repairs to a broken roof panel, but that turned into a month, and then six months, after further damage was found.

In a letter sent to South Suffolk MP James Cartlidge, the council said it had spent about £400,000 since then in a bid to keep it operational.

The authority also said it was continuing to explore "longer-term options" for swimming facilities in Sudbury.

But it added that rebuilding the pool would have meant having to spend anywhere between £10m and £28m, a cost which it said "few councils can afford".

It did, however, tell the BBC it was "actively exploring a range of funding options" and it would "continue to fight for the funding the town deserves".

Plumb added: "This is one of Sudbury's most important community facilities, so the priority has to be finding a way to replace it.

"Simply saying there's no money isn't good enough."

While the building is owned by the council, the leisure centre is operated by not-for-profit social enterprise Abbeycroft, which also runs Hadleigh Pool and Leisure.

Within a week of the closure around 100 swimming lessons had been moved to the site, and all school swimming lessons this term have been relocated to either Hadleigh or Halstead Swimming Club.

"We are devastated that we have had to close the pool - it was the last thing we wanted to do, but we cannot compromise on public safety," a council spokesperson said.

"The pool at Kingfisher has been an important part of the community for four decades and generations of Sudbury children have learned to swim there.

"We are continuing to work with Abbeycroft to establish other provision. This is being treated as a priority."

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