Brechin: Paddling pool reopens after three-year battle to save it for the community.

campaign: Preservation group gained funding to savethe50-year-old attraction

An Angus community has won a three-year battle to save a children’s attraction.

Brechin’s 50-year-old paddling pool is delighting youngsters once more after a high-profile campaign to save it from ruin.

The pool at the Inch was closed following claims it cost Angus Council £20,000 to maintain every year, but this sum related to wider “unplanned” works in north Angus.

Keeping Alba Pools as a contractor was a cost the local authority “could no longer afford”, according to a former councillor.

The campaign to save the pool resulted in the creation of the Inch Maintenance and Preservation Society (Imps), which applied for funding to get the pool reopened, including a “turning point” £8,000 from Tesco.

Imps also wants to improve the wide recreational area at the Inch Park, or the Papery as it is known to Brechiners, in the long-term.

Spokesman Mark Arbuthnott said: “At times it has been an uphill battle.

“Much of the hard work is behind us now but we have our eyes on reusing another part of the Inch to generate income to keep the pool running and improve the park and we hope both the community and Angus Council get behind the idea which we feel is a winwin situation.”

The Imps group, which was set up by George Garden, Mark Arbuthnott and Jess Christie, has also been looking at sprucing up other parts of Brechin with small-scale environmental projects involving both local primary schools.

Mr Arbuthnott added: “We hope to help generate some pride of place in our youngsters and show them that with a bit of work you can improve your living environment.

“Imps are among a number of successful community groups working hard in Brechin which has seen its City Hall thrive under community management since its threatened closure early last year.

“The town can also boast the wildly successful Harley-Davidson in the City festival and a monthly community cinema in its third year of operation.”

Much of the hard work is behind us now but wehave oureyes on reusing another part of the Inch to generate income to keep the pool running.

Picture: Paul Smith. Children enjoying the sunshine at the reopened pool in Brechin.