Over 160 Ilkley residents, including many of the sports and town organisations, met last week to share ideas on how to secure the future of the Ilkley Pool and Lido.
Bradford Council has announced that it will need to find £1.25 million cuts from its Leisure and Sports facilities, which is a quarter of its total budget of £5 million.
The Ilkley Pool and Lido CBS group is developing two sets of propositions, one where the community works in closer partnership with Bradford Council to generate significantly more income and put in cost saving measure against high spend areas such as energy costs. The other proposition is that the Ilkley Community takes ownership of the whole site so that we can be more agile in generating solutions that benefit the whole community.
At the meeting on Friday 2 February at Ilkley Rugby Club, people shared their love of the Pool and Lido, recounting examples of the benefit to them personally, to children growing up in Ilkley and to the wider economy of the town. The enthusiasm of the community to step up to the challenge of ensuring the Pool and Lido together remain open and become a thriving sports hub all year round won support from everyone there.
Attending the meeting, Di Lury said "It was fantastic to see the level of energy and creativity in the room and heartening that 140 people have already signed up to the group showing that our community are enthusiastic about developing plans to secure the long term future for Ilkley Lido and Pool'.
Joanne Bown from the swimming club said: "The passion in the room was incredible, Ilkley’s Pool & Lido clearly has an important place in a lot of lives within the community. Not many towns can provide a place to swim both outside and inside, so let’s keep this special place open.”
A spokesperson for the Ilkley Pool and Lido CBS group said: "In March, Bradford Council will be sharing the finances and usage of the Pool and Lido and the community will be coming back together to review our options. Thank you to Ilkley Rugby club for hosting the meeting.”
You can contact the Ilkley Pool and Lido CBS group at Ilkleylidocbs@gmail.com and sign up for updates at https://ilkleylidoandpool.co.uk/
The next public meeting is on Friday 5th April at Ilkley Lawn Tennis & Squash Club, 6pm - 7pm, anyone wishing to register their interest can at www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/ilkley-pool-and-lido-community-ownership-the-proposals-tickets-823797529587