HAMPTON POOL RECEIVES £99,500 IN NEW FUNDING
The much-loved Hampton open air swimming pool has received £99,500 in funding from Sport England Swimming Pool Support Fund, it was revealed today
Twickenham MP Munira Wilson said: “I’m so pleased that some help is on the horizon for our beloved local lido, Hampton Pool.
“Anyone who has spent a day at Hampton Pool knows its value to the local community, and the mental and physical benefits it brings for residents young and old.
“With so many pools struggling with energy costs, this support is much needed.”
Munira has raised the plight of Hampton Pool, and other community pools like it, in Parliament.
Richmond Council supported and submitted Hampton Pool’s application to the Sport England Swimming Pool Support Fund.
The funding of £99,500 will go towards solar panels for the new Hampton Pool building, with planned redevelopment due to start this autumn.
Andrew Gill, Chair of Hampton Pool Trust, said: “With pools like ours feeling the pinch of skyrocketing energy costs, the funding from the Swimming Pool Support Fund will help us manage our energy costs in a more sustainable way.
“But with 2024 a big year for Hampton Pool and our plans for the future, our fundraising search is far from over.”
Last year, Munira challenged the Government over its failure to include beloved community lidos like Hampton Pool in the list of sectors entitled to greatest support in its Energy Bills Discount Scheme.
Munira raised Hampton Pool’s plight during a debate on Sport in Schools and Communities in January of last year, and tabled a Written Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, calling on the Secretary of State to review the sectors included on the “Energy and Trade Intensive Industries” list to include swimming pools and leisure centres.
Hampton Pool, opened in 1922, was threatened with closure in the 1980s, when it was saved by a group of local residents. The community pool, now run by a non-profit charitable trust and managed by YMCA St Paul’s Group, relies on entry fees and fundraising to keep its doors open.
Hampton Pool is the base for many grass roots sports clubs and organisations, including triathlon and swim clubs such as Thames Turbo and Teddington Masters.
They also train and employ young people as lifeguards and teachers and provide swimming lessons for children of all ages, including local schools, and run a wide range of health and wellbeing-focused exercise sessions, including for the elderly.
You can learn more here: Hampton Pool – 365 days of swimming in tropical blue heated water
Hampton Pool Trust
Hampton Pool Trust is the Governing Body of the public open-air swimming pool at Hampton, having taken over responsibility for this from the Council in 1985. It is a not-for-profit Company limited by guarantee which is registered as an educational charity. Hampton Pool is managed on behalf of Hampton Pool Trust by YMCA St Paul’s Group.
Sport England
Sport England is a public body and invests up to £300 million National Lottery and government money each year in projects and programmes that help people get active and play sport. It wants everyone in England, regardless of age, background, or level of ability, to feel able to engage in sport and physical activity. That’s why a lot of its work is specifically focused on helping people who do no, or very little, physical activity and groups who are typically less active – like women, disabled people and people on lower incomes.
