Open-air pool welcomes swimmers after £1.7m refurb

An open-air pool has welcomed its first swimmers after a £1.7m refurbishment, which included replacing the boilers and upgrading the changing rooms.

The pool in Portishead opened in 1962 and was threatened with closure in 2008, but a new community trust took it over, and it has seen a surge in visitors since the pandemic.

Improvement works took place while the pool was shut for a season last year, helped by a £1.3m grant from the government's Community Ownership Fund.

Chair of the Portishead Pool Community Trust, Claudia Amos, said new solar panels meant the pool was now "fit for the future" and said it is warmer than some indoor pools.

"The only way you get cold is from the pool to the changing rooms," she said.

"We would like people to come to be comfortable."

The pool was originally heated by hot water from a nearby phosphorus plant; an oil boiler was installed in 1969, and now there is a modern biomass boiler.

Apart from a manager and the lifeguards, the pool and cafe are run by volunteers, with more always needed.

Amos said it is "run by the community, for the community", with people who learned to swim there many years ago often returning.

She said "most days we take up to 250 people", with queues in the summer.

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