Moves to get Victorian sea pool opened again

Hopes are high that a Victorian sea pool in North Devon will be repaired and reopen as a public attraction now a community interest company (CIC)  is taking over ownership from North Devon Council.

Councillors say Lynmouth Seawater Bathing Pool has been used unofficially for decades but it is hard to access and has a break in the sea wall meaning it only remains part full at low tide.

Lynmouth Sailing Club approached the council asking to take on the freehold after demand to see it reopened as a public swimming pool.

The move was supported by the council’s strategy and resources committee.

Cllr Malcolm Wilkinson (Lib Dem, Mortehoe) said the appetite for cold water swimming was enormous, especially in Lynmouth, and he supported the transfer.

Neither the district council or Lynton and Lynmouth Town Council want to be responsible for the pool.

It is understood that some work needs to be undertaken on the inter-tidal habitat, and water quality needs to be up to bathing standard.

The sailing club has undertaken an ecology study of the site but needed to establish ownership before it could move forward.

The club said there were lots of different users, including surfers, and it would be talking to them before undertaking any work.

In a report for the committee, officers said access to the beach from the council-owned Esplanade car park has been closed off for many years because of safety issues, and would not be allowed to be reopened because it  now forms part of the coastal defences.

They also said that there was also a lack of clarity over legal rights of access to the foreshore land but this would be for the sailing club to accept if it takes over.

North Devon Council doesn’t want paying for the site but will ask the club to contribute towards its legal costs.