Plea to keep Lenton Centre open as swimming pool's future confirmed

A Nottingham community centre with a swimming pool and gym will liquidate within weeks if not enough donations are found to save it. The Lenton Centre on Willoughby Street, Lenton, which offers a swimming pool, gym, hall, and community spaces to locals, is facing closure due to ballooning utility bills and wage increases.

The charity behind it has said it needs a cash injection of at least £30,000 to keep its gym and community spaces open, while it would need £100,000 to maintain its swimming pool. Miriam Pearman, managing director of The Lenton Centre, explained she hoped the "worst case scenario" of closure could be avoided, with the swimming pool closing in July in a bid to keep the rest of the centre operational.

"We offer essential services and a place for people to connect, stay fit, and engage in various activities. The potential closure would be a significant loss for everyone," managing director Ms Pearman said.

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"The bottom line is there is a slim chance we can turn the swimming pool around. We have around 1,000 people using it so if it goes that really impacts how much we can do." The closure of the other parts of the centre would mean that a number of groups, including a day centre for adults with learning disabilities and alternative providers for school children, would have to find a new home.

The charity is now appealing for help from the local community, businesses, and supporters to help raise the funds it needs. Ms Pearman explained energy costs had doubled since the cost-of-living crisis began and said inflation, the uplift in minimum wage, and the city council's removal of the discretionary charity rates had also hurt the venue.

The former slipper bath and wash house was closed by Nottingham City Council in 2004, and became The Lenton Centre when it was bought for £10 the year after. The manager explained there would have to be redundancies to make the centre sustainable in the future, even if the much-needed cash injection materialised.

The centre would then try to rebuild and enhance its activity offerings, aiming to increase bookings for the hall and other community spaces. Donations can be made directly to The Lenton Centre, with supporters asked to contact Ms Pearman for further details.

A fundraising page has been set up to raise £30,000 and money can be donated here.

Users have been informed the swimming pool, home to the Quackers Swim School, will close on July 22. "Quackers has had its own challenges recruiting and retaining staff and swimmers, but the changes made over the past six months have ensured Quackers' profitability," an email to users read.

"However, despite these successful changes, the rest of pool operations have proved too costly to continue, so it is with great sadness and a heavy heart that we at The Lenton Centre must announce the closure of the pool from 22nd July, once our swimming lessons have finished for the term.

"We are hoping to find a way to keep the rest of the building open. We want to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you for your support over the years, especially during these past six months. We hope you keep in touch and we will be in contact again when we have spoken to other swim schools about their capacity to take on more swimmers."