Hampton Pool Trust: Positive changes

Since it was built in 1922 Hampton Pool has evolved and changed to provide the local community with a friendly, accessible place to relax and exercise. Hampton Pool Trust wants to progress our wonderful community gem so it can continue to benefit all who use it.

Back in 1922 if you were using the pool you would have been swimming just 25 yards with wooden changing cubicles all around the pool. By 1939 it was a 40 yard pool with pump filtration. By the beginning of 1960 the pool was widened and the current building constructed. The learner pool was built in 1990 but since then there have been no significant changes to the pool footprint.

There have, of course, been other changes to Hampton Pool which have encouraged a wider range and number of people to use the pool. For example, the pool was first heated in 1985, the changing rooms have each been halved to create a gym (1990) and a studio (2006). Also there have been major refurbishments of the main pool tank, the roof and changing rooms which ensure users can safely enjoy Hampton Pool all year round.

With the centenary of Hampton Pool coming up in 2022, the Hampton Pool Trust Board have been considering how the pool needs to change so that it can continue to thrive as the community around it evolves. Over the past few years, with extensive consultation with all the different users of the pool, the Trust has been looking at various options. One of the key considerations is how to make more beneficial use of the unused area at the deep end of the pool site to create better dryside facilities. This would release additional space to improve the current changing facilities and cater better for families.

What we ARE planning:

You may have seen plans around the pool, responded to requests from the Trust as to what you want, or indeed heard people talking about it. This is how we are planning to make improvements:

• New additional unisex changing areas with family sized and individual cubicles, whilst maintaining male and female only changing rooms;
• Lift to the roof where there will be a redesigned bigger café with new kitchen and serving area;
• Covered areas on the roof for colder and rainy days but with half of the area still open to sit and enjoy the view, your coffee and meal all year round;
• Better dryside facilities ensure the site is well used all year and is not so dependent on the weather. At the deep end of the pool a new gym and studios will provide more space for equipment and classes;
• Better staff facilities with new office space, changing area and drying room for their equipment and wetsuits;
• Re-laid and set out car park additional secure bike racks and new pedestrian access pathways to improve safety. New green areas with new plants and bushes will enhance the entrance to the pool.

Behind the scenes we are taking care of some sustainability issues. New pool equipment, filters, pumps and heaters along with solar panels and a combined heat and power unit which will reduce our energy costs and our carbon footprint.

We are NOT building a ‘leisure centre’:

Just in case you are reading this worried that Hampton Pool will no longer be the special place we all love, we would like to assure you that it will remain primarily an open air pool with 75% of the site devoted to swimming.

It won’t be a huge gym but our current gym is overcrowded with equipment and people and a new larger gym will allow the equipment to be better spaced for easier access – especially for those with disabilities.

The studios are sized to give more space per person with a few additional spaces to make the classes viable and to avoid disappointment in our popular classes.

We have looked at creating another pool for learning and training however the costs of creating and maintaining it are hard to recover in comparison to an expanded gym and studio.

We don’t plan any long closures and we are working to remain open for business as usual with minimal inconvenience to you, our customers.

Hampton Pool Trust is working hard to evolve the Pool in order to continue to provide you with a great customer experience and improved facilities for the benefit of the whole community as everyone at the pool has been doing since 1922.

The planning application for the development of Hampton Pool is now available to view online at:

http://www2.richmond.gov.uk/lbrplanning/Planning_CASENO.aspx?strCASENO=16/3434/FUL&DocTypeID=51#docs

If you have any comments to make please get them in as soon as possible as the closing date is the 3rd of October. A decision on the planning application is currently due on the 21st October.

Thank you for all your support so far with this worthwhile development.

Hampton Pool Trust