A POPULAR community swimming pool in Sharpness is now able to open more often following the installation of a heating pump.

The pool has been awarded a £10,000 grant from the Big Lottery Fund to cover the cost of the project.

Prior to installing the pumps, the pool could only be opened when the temperature was above 21C.

The heating installation is part of Sharpness Pool’s ‘Pool 4 All’ project, designed to open the facility up to the wider community.

Groups, including scouts and guides, will now be able to use the pool on a more regular basis.

Sharpness Community Swimming Trust chairman David Ashford, said that the installation of heating would allow the pool to be available more regularly to the community.

Speaking to the Gazette, he said: “As we could only open when the temperature was above 21C we couldn’t reliably open for regular activities and groups. With the heating we can open more regularly making the facility more attractive for groups and not be reliant upon the weather.

“We will also use the pool to help train lifeguards, giving people skills that they can invest back into the local community.”

Sharpness pool is now open and will remain open throughout the summer.

Sharpness Community Swimming Trust was set up to ensure it remains open for the school and the community to teach important life skills. 

The pool was built in the 1960s after many incidents in both the Severn and the nearby canal where children were unable to save themselves. 

The trust is still looking for volunteer lifeguards. Anyone interested should email sharpnesspool@outlook.com.

One of the first events to be held since the installation will be a charity swim which will see participants swim the equivalent distance of the Channel Tunnel and back.

The swim will begin at 4pm on Friday, July 15 and continue throughout the Saturday when a band and other activities will be at the pool on Saturday. A band and activities will be on offer at the pool on the Saturday.