Plans unveiled for new hydrotherapy pool in the Borders
Last updated 29th Mar 2023
Plans to build a new hydrotherapy pool in Jedburgh have been lodged with Scottish Borders Council.
The Waterside Fitness Centre, in the town's Oxnam Road, is to be extended to accommodate the development at Laidlaw Memorial Pool - which, if approved, would also include a new entrance area and 36-seat cafe.
It's estimated the project would cost £4 million and be financed through grant funding from the UK and Scottish governments.
A design statement submitted with the planning application states the new hydrotherapy pool would allow for several new pool classes and sessions.
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It goes on: "These classes include well-being sessions, sports sessions and accompanied physiotherapy, which will all be accompanied by specialised staff members in the centre.
"Of the 101 hours per week the facility is open, half of these hours will be allocated to accompanied physiotherapy, enabling the residents of Jedburgh and nearby areas to recover from injury in a specialised facility with professional aid, something sorely lacking across the region as a whole."
The pool, which is operated by Jedburgh Leisure Facilities Trust, recently saw its electricity bill soar £35,000 in a year.
But a £127,000 funding boost from the council earlier this year helped safeguard its immediate future.
A feasibility study, carried out by the trust, states: "Laidlaw Memorial Pool currently has the following facilities: a 25 metre swimming pool, a fully equipped gym, a soft play for children, gym studios, cycling studios and a cafe.
"However, in recent years, the facility has been unable to continue its idyllic service to customers, with the latter three facilities all falling to the wayside in an attempt to focus on the core offerings of the centre, due to dwindling demand of customers to an underwhelming service ability.
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"The Trust are aiming to expand their current facility through a regeneration project featuring the construction of an extension and redesign of the current premises to enable further services to be offered.
"The feasibility study centres on the construction of a new hydrotherapy pool, as well as the expansion of the café and fitness studio to enable the reintroduction of fitness classes, ultimately aiming to revigorate the leisure centre as a social hub of well-being in the Jedburgh community."
Councillors are expected to discuss the plans in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, plans to build 46 homes on the former Borders College campus, just off Melrose Road in Galashiels, have also now formally been lodged with the council.
Earlier this month, Eildon Housing Association released 3D images of the proposed development ahead of a planning application being submitted. You can read more on that story here.
Do you have plans for a new development in the Scottish Borders or North Northumberland you would like to share on the radio, or are you worried about a proposed development in your area? Email our reporter: ally.mcgilvray@bauermedia.co.uk