Brinscall swimming pool changes blasted

The refurbishment of one of Lancashire’s oldest swimming baths has been branded a “waste of money” after it emerged the general public can now use the facility for just three hours a week.

Brinscall Swimming Pool, in Chorley, was officially reopened late last month after a £600,000 overhaul, more than two years after it was closed to most users because of its deteriorating condition.

However, there are currently just three, hour-long “lane swimming” sessions being held each week.

Chorley Council – which runs the 113-year-old pool and funded the work to ensure it could continue to operate safely – says the baths are being well used by schools and other groups. It has also pledged to expand access for the wider public in the near future.

However, lifelong Brinscall resident Robin Bamford has accused the authority of splashing council taxpayers’ cash – with very little to show for it.

“They have cut the opening hours by 90 percent compared to before the closure.

“I have been going to that pool almost every weekday for the past 35 years and swimming a mile a day –  but now they have virtually eliminated working-age people from it.

“Two of the three sessions are during the afternoon, with only one of an evening – so very few people can use it.

“It’s commendable that the council have made the investment in what is a small rural village.  But it’s just a shame that they have spent all that money – and now you can’t actually go for a swim,” Robin, 59, said.

Responding to the criticism, Cllr Bev Murray, executive member for early intervention at Chorley Council, said, “Brinscall Swimming Pool has recently undergone a £600,000 refurbishment with critical repairs being done to the pool itself.

“Currently, the pool is used by 1150 members of the community attending on a weekly basis for school swimming, evening swimming lessons, club sessions, deep aqua sessions and some lane swimming sessions. We appreciate that the community would like to see more public access, and this is something that is being looked at.

“As a council, we are mindful of how council taxpayers’ money is spent and we wanted to ensure that the planned sessions of lessons were running smoothly before committing to other sessions. We do intend to trial various opening sessions in the near future to see which gets the most use.

“We are also set to launch another evening lane swimming session on a Friday night from 8.30pm to 9.30pm,” Cllr Murray added.

Currently, lane swimming for the general public is available between 8.30pm and 9.30pm on Mondays and from 3-4pm on Wednesdays and Fridays.  A “deep aqua” session is also held on Tuesdays between 3 and 4pm.

Following an inspection in 2022, it was feared the pool would end up at risk of “catastrophic” failure if urgent repair work was not carried out.   Last year, Chorley Council said that it would fund a wider refit during the remediation, to bring the facility up to modern standards.