Midlands councils urged to invest as thousands of swimming pools in England risk closure
A report says up to 2,000 pools could be lost by 2030
2,000 of the country's swimming pools could be lost by the end of the decade, a report from Swim England has found.
Swimming teachers across the West Midlands are concerned that closing pools and preventing children from learning to swim could be dangerous.
Julie Hancock, a swimming teacher from Stoke-on-Trent, says that closing down pools creates a safety issue for children:
"There’s several consequences of children not being able to get swimming lessons. First and foremost the safety issue.
As we have children growing up that aren’t able to swim, unfortunately there will be more accidents with children involved around water."
The Government is being urged to invest £1bn into public leisure facilities to allow councils to build new pools and refurbish old ones.
Swim England are also encouraging local councils that do not have swimming facilities to request a pool in their application to the "Levelling Up" fund.