Club ‘let down’ by council’s ruling to close Halifax Pool
HALIFAX SYNCHRONISED Swimming Club say they feel completely let down by Calderdale Council after their decision to close Halifax Pool.
Calderdale Council said last week that due to severe structural deterioration, Halifax Swimming Pool has been permanently closed to protect the safety of its staff and users.
The club is celebrating it’s 20th anniversary this year. It was founded by head coach Charlotte Hughes, starting with just four swimmers, but now boasts over 100 members from age five to 60.
Its members consistently win medals at national, north east and Yorkshire events, and swimmers have gone on to swim in Great Britain teams.
Current member Isobel Davies swam with GB in the Fina Artistic Swimming World Series 2019, winning silver in the combination team event.
In a statement, the club said: “The closure of our only training facility will have a massive impact on our club.
“The sport requires a considerable depth of water to enable the swimmers to safely execute their routines and lifts.
“The synchro swimmers cannot touch the bottom of the pool at any point in a routine or lift.
“The club hopes to access some training time at the other Calderdale pools but fears that their past success in competitions will be massively impacted due to shallow water training facilities they will be forced to train at due to the closure of Halifax Pool.
“The club and its swimmers feel completely let down by Calderdale Council and are disappointed that there will not be adequate facilities for our young aspiring athletes to continue in the sport they love.
“As a result of this closure, our future is uncertain.
“The plans for the new pool have yet to revealed fully, be passed for planning and also be built, this will take precious time.
“Our concerns now move onto the proposed new pool being fit for purpose.
“Sports clubs like Halifax Synchro are worried that the proposed new pool will be a blueprint of the new Sowerby Bridge and Brighouse pools, and as a result will not deep enough to accommodate synchro and diving.
“Halifax pool was such a fantastic facility not only for synchro but for diving, swimming, water polo, octopush and sub Aqua.
“It’s 12 foot 6 deep diving pit meant that lots of different aquatic sports could be accommodated whilst it’s T shaped pool meant that other activities such as public swims could take place at the same time.
“It was such a versatile pool and will be missed by the local public and its clubs.”
The statement continued:
“Halifax pool was, until its closure, being used by the north east and Yorkshire swimming associations for synchro competitions, attracting hundreds of spectators and competitors, bringing in much needed funds for the Council facility and local economy.
“The pool is the only facility currently to have deep enough water for synchro and diving in the local area.
“You will have to travel to Leeds to access facilities like it, which is not accessible for most of our members, some of which travel from as far as Ilkley and Skipton just to train and compete for Halifax.”