£127k boost safeguards Jedburgh swimming pool
Leisure Trust under financial pressure v.1
A grateful Jedburgh councillor has thanked Scottish Borders Council for safeguarding the future of a vital town swimming pool – courtesy of a £127,000 funding boost.
With spiralling energy costs, Jedburgh Leisure Facilities Trust, which runs the town’s Laidlaw Memorial Pool, has been facing financial challenges.
But concerns over the future of the pool were allayed when Scottish Borders Council met on Thursday, January 26, to agree a one-off financial support package to the Trust of £127,000 from the authority’s recovery fund.
The funding will be used to introduce a series of energy-saving measures to cut ongoing costs.
These will include installation of ducting and automatic shutters to direct heat only to where it is needed, a new insulated hot water tank to conserve energy and the installation of solar panels on the roof.
The council move is not without precedent.
Only last month it agreed funding of £127,000 to Berwickshire Recreation and Education Sports Trust (Brest) to carry out energy-saving works at Duns Swimming Pool.
Jedburgh and District Councillor Scott Hamilton described the funding as “a really welcome news story for Jedburgh and my constituents”.
He added: “The Trust has been in operation for a number of years now in Jedburgh and they have done wonders in our community, and in fact when the news broke that the Trust was in trouble I got an email even on Christmas Day from a constituent who was that worried about what was happening there.
“This news for the Trust will be great benefit to Jedburgh and I know that the Trust has been working really hard in the community to provide support and I can tell you they had a coffee morning and I turned up but was turned away because I didn’t have a ticket. It was the first time a coffee morning was a ticketed event, it was that well supported.
“That shows you what the community want to do here and what the Trust want to do for their community and I’m so grateful that the council has been able to come forward here and support it.”