Kyle of Lochalsh’s ‘life-saving’ leisure centre facing fundraising target of £40,000 or closure
A “LIFE-SAVING” facility in a Wester Ross community, where much of the locals’ lives “revolve around the sea”, is facing a fundraising target of £40,000 or closure.
The community-owned Lochalsh Leisure Centre first opened in 1992 to teach “hundreds” of local families how to swim, following a number of drownings in the area.
However, since January of this year, the swimming pool has been shut due to an electrical fire, launching the community into a fundraising campaign to try and re-open the much-loved facility.
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As one of the first generations of people to learn to swim at the Kyle of Lochalsh pool, Rhiannon Cumine is now a trustee for the facility.
“There has been a massive amount of work undertaken to get the Lochalsh Leisure Centre almost at the point of reopening,” explained Rhiannon. “The facility is so vitally important to an area like ours where so much of our lives revolve around the sea — whether it’s living by, working on or enjoying it recreationally. The ability to swim is a life-saving skill here.
“With our area being so remote, the distances required to get to similar facilities is not feasible — particularly for schools or for people using it for recovery.”
One of the fundraising efforts for Lochalsh Swimming Pool was a swim from Kyleakin to Kyle on September 7, which saw over 20 swimmers take part, and raised nearly £18,000. As well as this fundraising sum, the pool has also been promised £25,000 in grant funding from the Highland Council.
However, a further £40,000 is still needed to secure the facility.
Rhiannon continued: “Our Kyleakin to Kyle Swim was our first real push towards our campaign, with our swimmers each raising impressive figures to get us going.
“A lot of the Lochalsh Leisure Centre equipment is outdated and getting old, and therefore becomes more costly to maintain and run on a daily basis. Our campaign will help us be able to become more efficient and kinder to the environment while running the facility.
“We have seen a number of similar facilities have to close down over the years, as the costs are just too high. We do not want that to happen to our leisure centre — so we need our whole community to come together get the doors open and keep them open.”
As well as the fundraising drive, Lochalsh Leisure Centre is also looking to recruit a centre manager, to “help us lead the way to the future of our facility”.
At the time of writing, the swimming pool has currently secured 7 per cent of its £40,000 target on its JustGiving page.
Some of the description on the JustGiving page reads: “Hundreds of families have been taught how to swim by this leisure centre since we opened our doors to the public.
“We know how much everyone involved in our community wants the pool to reopen, and now we need your help to turn this into a reality — we need your financial help, we need your volunteering help and we need your fundraising help. If you can make any contribution — big or small — please join our campaign. Lochalsh Leisure Centre is the only such facility in our community.”
Kyle RNLI lifeboat also functions at the heart of the community and reflects the importance of the sea to the area.
Crewman Andy MacDonald said: “The pool and leisure centre is an integral part of our community, and it has been greatly missed these past few months.
“A generation of local children learned to swim in the pool, and many are now involved in various activities out on the water, from sailing to paddle boarding, using the skills and confidence they gained from their time spent in the pool.
“Without the leisure centre, the next generation of our children will be lacking in this vital life skill which helps keep them safe when out on the water.
“On a personal level, my three-year-old son was learning to swim in the pool prior to it closing, and we have had to travel to Fort William most weeks for him to be able to have swimming lessons, and continue to develop his confidence in the water.”
Finlay hit the headlines when he helped raise almost £2000 for the lifeboat his Dad helps operate. The Kyle crew meanwhile were named Highland Heroes in this paper’s emergency services category last year.
Kate Forbes MSP said: “I visited earlier this year and the resounding feedback from the community is that the pool is a highly valued facility, particularly given the nearest alternatives for swimming are either Portree or Inverness.
“I know the group have been working extremely hard to reopen the pool, as well as improve the long-term sustainability of the centre, and I wish them every success with their fundraising efforts.”
To donate, visit www.justgiving.com and search for ‘Lochalsh Leisure’.
