Pool will not reopen in July

Following government guidance, the charity that runs the Westgate site said it could not afford to reopen the pool on July 25.

“Unfortunately, a safe and financially viable re-opening of Tadcaster Pool is not achievable under the current government COVID guidelines,” said facility manager Chris Porter.

“Tadcaster Swimming Pool Trust operates as a registered not for profit Charity and receives no government or local authority financial support or grants.

“The money raised through admissions, swimming lessons and fundraising is used to maintain the facility and cover our operational costs.”

He explained that the current government guidance and restrictions for the sector will significantly affect the number of customers it can safely accommodate per session.

“For everyone’s safety, social distancing must be maintained throughout the facility and this is very difficult to achieve in a building of our size and layout, especially in the changing rooms,” added Mr Porter.

“Implementing the restrictions and running our normal timetable would mean a 75 per cent reduction in attendances, which in turn would reduce our income and ability to cover our operating costs.

“We would be operating at a loss which would significantly affect the long term viability of the facility.”

“The safety of our customers, staff and volunteers is paramount. The Trust have therefore taken the very difficult decision at this point in time to not re-open the facility to the public on the 25th July.”

The facility manager said that the Trust will continue to monitor government guidelines and consider options to its timetable that may allow re-opening.

He added that alongside the loss of four months’ income, the Trust has also had to cancel three of our key annual fundraising events - The Tadcaster Triathlon, York Dragon Boat Race and the Duck Race.

“These events would be expected to raise in excess of £5,000 and this money would ordinarily be spent directly on operating and improving the facility,” said Mr Porter.

A fundraising page has been set up to try to raise £5,000 to help secure the future of the charity and has so far raised over £1,300.

“We do understand that not everyone is in a position to donate as these are extremely challenging times for a lot of people,” added Mr Porter.

“On behalf of everyone at Tadcaster Pool, I would like to take the opportunity to thank everyone for their continued support and we hope that we are able to safely welcome people back in the not too distant future.”

Tadcaster Swimming Pool Trust was last month awarded £10,000 of National Lottery funding from Sport England’s Community Emergency Fund towards utility and insurance during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

To donate visit Virgin Money Giving page uk.virginmoneygiving.com/giving and type in Tadcaster Swimming Pool Trust COVID19 in the “Do Something Amazing today section”.