We, the undersigned, hereby urge Worcester City Council to support the proposal of an eight lane swimming pool in Worcester.

Swimming is a very popular and growing sport in Worcester and this is reflected in a significant increase in local swimming club membership in recent years with demand for pool use already exceeding capacity. Across the country Sport England monitor the amount of sport people play and their most recent survey shows that swimming is in fact the country’s most popular sport, with more swimmers participating in their sport every week than footballers and golfers combined. Coupled with the growth in population planned for the city, without an eight lane pool there will be an increasing shortfall in the provision of water space that local families, schools and clubs have access to.

The case for providing effective swimming facilities is clear and well researched:

Swimming has a role to play in building a stronger communities with the swimming pool often at the heart of it. Swimming assists with mental health and physical well-being across all socio-economic groups and provides people with health inequalities the chance to participate with those in good health, offering improved health to all members of the community.

Swimming is a vital life skill as well as being an excellent form of exercise for all ages and levels of ability.The benefits of regular participation in exercise are frequently extolled and this is supported by a recent study into the impact of swimming on health and the cost of health care. The findings showed that significant reductions in costs for the treatment of chronic diseases such as coronary heart disease, stroke, and type-2 diabetes can bring about annual savings of £2m in health care across 500 patients in a population of 100,000. This could equate to £3.6m per PCT and a return on investment on public swimming pools of around £1.50 for every £1 spent.

An eight lane pool will most effectively enable schools to deliver their curriculum requirement that every Worcester child should be able to swim 25m by the age of 11, thus reducing incidents of drowning and open water accidents.

An eight lane facility will enable the pool to host competitive swimming events that can attract thousands of visitors every year and increase pool and tourist revenues accordingly

The choice of pool facility will have an irrevocable impact upon our city for the next few decades and we ask that Worcester City Council’s decision will not be constrained by short-termism or timidity but will leave a legacy that will properly serve future generations.