Noise problem is threat to Wem swimming pool ? Shropshire Star

The ageing swimming pool in Wem could be closed by Environmental Health if noise problems are not dealt with.

Wem Town Council has to reduce the noise created by the air handling unit at the Butler Sports Centre, in Bowens Field, after complaints from nearby residents.

And the council has been dealt a second blow as it has been advised to replace the leaking water system at the pool as well.

The emergency improvements come despite ongoing plans for redevelopment at the pool, due to take place in the coming years, but the council will have to do a ?patch repair? immediately.

Clerk Jane Drummond told a meeting of Wem Town Council in Edinburgh House on Thursday night something needs to happen now. She said: ?We have had two leaks within 12 months and we have been asked to look into replacing the water supply.

?We have been advised by the new managers, Teme Leisure, to look into replacing it. The noise problem has been caused because there is no insulation and we are looking at putting a silencer in.?

The latest leak cost almost ?900 to repair but Mrs Drummond said at the moment she does not know how much the improvement work will cost.

Councillor Edward Towers questioned the need to spend the money. He said it seemed wasteful when the Friends of Wem Swimming Pool group is looking at taking over and redeveloping.

But mayor of Wem, Councillor Connie Granger, said: ?If we don?t do anything Environmental Health will close us down, we haven?t got a choice.?

Councillor Chris Mellings said it is about ?keeping it legal?.

And Councillor Mandy Meakin added: ?We need to get what we have got running properly. We have got to keep the pool.?

Malcolm Adkins is chair of the Friends of Wem Swimming Centre. He said he was very pleased to see the council acting so quickly.

He said: ?It is a nuisance, the pool was built in the 1970s so it is all getting a bit tired, this is an example of that.

?Hopefully we will be solving the problem properly when we take over.

?It is a shame for the council that they have got to do what is effectively a patch repair but it has got to be done.?

Last year the future of the pool was thrown into doubt when Teme Leisure declared it was pulling out after two years of management.

The Friends group and the Severn Centre in Highley applied to take over and Wem Town Council awarded the job to Severn Centre ? but at the 11th hour Teme Leisure decided to continue running it.

Now The Friends group is looking to raise ?1million to take over on January 1 2015.

Mr Adkins said they will prioritise installing a new state-of-the-art power unit which will cost up to ?140,000.

Source: http://www.shropshirestar.com/news/2013/07/27/noise-problem-is-threat-to-wem-swimming-pool/

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