Ward Freman Community Pool Group

The Pool

The Ward Freman swimming pool has been an important asset to Buntingford and the surround villages  since it was built in the 1970's. Originally built as part of the Ward Freman School it has been used to teach generations of children the life saving skill of the ability swim. The Buntingford Swimming Club has had to close after 47 years of operation and regular swimmers and participants of water aerobic classes are having to seek alternative venues to keep up their aquatic activities. 

When in 2011 the Ward Freman School became an academy and was renamed Freman College, the pool remained under the ownership of Hertfordshire County Council. Running costs were shared with East Herts District Council, who (most recently) contracted Everyone Active to manage the pool. The pool was open to schools only Mon - Fri 9-5.30pm with local schools such as Freman College, Edwinstree Middle, Layston First and Millfield First being able to walk pupils to the pool. Village schools such as Reed First and Jenyns Primary were also regular users.

The Learn to Swim programme of children's swimming lessons was very popular. Despite the facilities not being as modern as other leisure centres in Hertfordshire, the quality of teaching in a smaller, friendlier pool had its advantages with Everyone Active reporting 470 participants enrolled when the pool closed.

The Closure

In November 2023, East Herts District Council and Everyone Active announced that the pool would be closing 23rd December 2023 as the two councils could not afford the necessary tile repairs and upgrades to the outdated plant equipment that posed a potential health and safety risk.

The Future

Local residents were shocked and stunned by the decision to close the pool. After a few meetings hosted by district councillors, a group of people ready to take action was formed.  Both Hertfordshire County Council and East Herts District council agreed that the pool could become a community run asset by the community for the community if a suitable business plan was put forward.

The Ward Freman Community Pool Group was created and registered as a CIO charity (Reg. No. 1207746) in April 2024, committed to the reopening and renovation of the Ward Freman Swimming Pool in Buntingford.

Trustees Joanne Willett, Philip Wylie, Alison Barr and Shelia White prior to meeting Hertfordshire County Council and East Herts District Council representatives on 8th April 2024.

Community Support
A survey was conducted in January 2024 to identify how the community would support the future reopening of the pool. It was clear from the 661 responses that the pool was loved by many and would be missed, forcing people to either stop their aquatic activities or drive 8 miles to another swimming pool. Reducing their physical activity and increasing the environmental impact.  Many requested public access to the pool during day and increased weekend hours. The charity has used this data to create a timetable and predict visitor numbers which forms the basis of a business case that shows that the pool, with capital investment can be self sustaining.

Fundraising so far

The charity has been working with volunteers to raise money from sponsored events, selling pre loved books and hosting other fundraising events such as dances and quizzes. 

Along side these events applications are also being made for grant funding. The original plan in April 2024 was to apply for a Community Ownership Fund grant of £934,000 which would have seen the complete renovation of the pool. An expression of interest was accepted but due to the change in government this fund was prematurely closed. 

The plan in 2025 is to work towards a phased approach to reopening and refurbishment. 

Phase 1 - Reopen the pool - raise funds to replace the filtration and chemical dosing systems and repair the broken pool tiles. This will allow the charity to reopen the doors with the dry side looking pretty much the same (apart from a deep clean and a new lick of paint) as when the doors closed in December 2023. This will cost about £400,000 and the charity currently (1st February 2025) has raised and had pledged £232,800.

Phase 1a - Interim Accessible Changing Room - 

Whilst not essential to getting the pool reopened, the current accessible changing room (pictured) is not really fit for purpose. It is accessed via the pool side which involves negotiating old heavy sliding doors and the raised channel in which they run.
Improved changing room accessibility and facilities is vital for enabling a dignified changing experience for anyone with an additional need.
The charity is currently scoping the feasibility and costs of creating an accessible changing room directly accessed from the reception area.

Phase 2 - Reduce the Environmental Impact  - Investing in a new air handling unit, air source heat pump and solar panels, will reduce the environmental impact of the pool as well as the running costs and improve the user experience of the pool. In due course, replacing the boilers with new energy efficient models will also contribute to reduce running costs.  Depending on the number of solar panels, this phase will cost between £90,000 and £120,000

Phase 3 - Modernise the Changing Rooms  - The survey in 2024 indicated that barriers to previous attendance were cold and dated changing rooms with inadequate lockers and showers that were unreliable. The changing room experience is certainly outdated, uninviting and lacks any designated family changing spaces. The Charity has worked with architectural company G2 to create plans for a changing village, which have been displayed on the charity website and received over 90 comments. This phase will cost circa £120,000.

Phase 4 - Create a Community Space, diversifying income - There is at present a significant amount of redundant space in the building. G2 Architecture’s designs have reconfigured these spaces into a layout which creates a changing village and flexible use area incorporating a café with improved pool viewing.
It is intended that the flexible nature of this café viewing area will make the pool a destination venue, allowing spectators and pool users to remain after their activity to socialise. It will have its own toilets separate to the changing rooms and will be able to be partitioned, to provide a private space whilst enabling pool activities to run concurrently. It could provide a venue for such groups as the recently closed Buntingford Youth Club, (from which an indication of interest has been obtained) and groups working to prevent social isolation as well as private hire for parties or training. This phase will cost circa £150,000. The charity also considers it prudent to have a £100,000 contingency fund.
 

Once all these phases are complete, Buntingford and the surrounding villages will have a modern, fit for purpose facility that the community could be proud of which is self sustaining. 

If you are able to donate to help reopen and refurbish the Ward Freman Swimming Pool please click the donate button.
If you have got an idea for an event and would like to fundraise like Helen Betley did swimming butterfly around Jersey, please click the "fundraise for this charity"  button. Setting up your own page only takes a few minutes and you won’t need any bank details,  just a great idea!