Herefordshire Council in delay over LEA pool

11:09am Monday 30th June 2008

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AS a parent of an eight-year-old, I am extremely disappointed by Hereford Council’s delay in reopening the LEA children’s swimming pool.

As a city, with the River Wye running through, I believe it is imperative all children are given the opportunity to learn to swim. For many, many years the LEA pool has provided very good, successful lessons to many of Hereford’s children. Had the boiler not failed in December, I am sure the lessons would have continued as in many previous successful years.

This is a very bad delay, at a time when the government is trying to promote exercise for children and considering free access to swimming pools for under 16s

J M Clewer, Putson, hereford

This is a very bad delay, at a time when the government is trying to promote exercise for children and considering free access to swimming pools for under 16s. Why do we in Hereford have to get it so wrong?

As a visitor to the Halo Swimming Pool I have seen children being taught in the leisure pool. This is completely unsuitable for lessons and designed for leisure and play. How can a child obtain a green badge by swimming a length when there isn’t a length to swim? I understand Halo allow the main swimming pool to be used for testing badges, once per term. Is this adequate?

The main swimming pool is not safe for children unless they have gained at least a green swimming badge and the teaching pool is only suitable for children up to this level. Obviously both pools are already in use during the day by the public and would not be available for school use anyway. Looking from the other angle, it also seems unfair the leisure pool cannot be used by the public during school hours, as the schools need a pool.

I believe the LEA pool was designed specifically for children’s swimming lessons. In most of the pool the children can touch the bottom, if they need to. Even at the deep end there is a step built to teach children to tread water. They can be grouped accordingly to their ability.

Finally and probably most worrying I am concerned the public have access to our children while they are having lessons. People can walk through by the side of this pool to access saunas, swimming pools and the cafe. In the LEA pool the only people allowed would be teachers and parents who may be helping, all of whom would have been approved by the schools.

J M CLEWER Putson, Hereford.