MSP Katy Clark has shown her support to the group who are attempting to revive Saltcoats Outdoor Pool by raising a motion at the Scottish Parliament.
In her motion to Holyrood calling for the reopening of the pool, Clark has backed campaigners seeking the restoration of the pool.
The West of Scotland MSP said the re-opening of the Saltcoats pool must be part of a nationwide programme of building new outdoor swimming baths and lidos.
Ms Clark said: “The closure of pools has been keenly felt in communities like Saltcoats. Generations of Scots learnt to swim on these sites, which also brought huge benefits for the tourism industry.
“When we eventually emerge from the Covid pandemic, it’s vital for public health, that access to leisure and sport services are accessible to all.
“Ministers must launch an immediate strategy with Swimming Scotland, aimed at ensuring there are outdoor swimming pools and lidos in as many communities as possible.
”Ensuring that local councils have adequate funding to begin reopening closed pools like that in Saltcoats, as well as building new swimming facilities, must be a critical part of a new approach from the Scottish Government.”
The group behind the bid to revive the bathing pond were happy to have the MSP’s backing.
Councillor Jim Montgomerie, who is on the board along with Irene Campbell, whose mother was the outdoor pool mistress for many years, and Herald reporter Lorraine Howard, said: “We welcome the support of Katy Clark.
“To have it raised at the Scottish Parliament means that more people are hearing about it and that is a good thing.”
This week the group, who have linked up with other outdoor pool organisations around Scotland and England, was contacted by a production company doing a documentary on the rise of outdoor pools or lidos as they call them.
Irene said: “We have been in talks with a lido in South Lakeland and Patrick McLennan is a film maker who is working on a piece about the Grange and has asked to talk to the Saltcoats group about our work.
“He is focusing on the revival of lidos around the country and why people are taking to outdoors swimming the way that they have and after hearing about our bid to revive Saltcoats’ lido, wants to speak to us.
“Its great just to get the word out there and it is fascinating to see how popular these lidos are becoming, we really hope that we are successful in our bid to have a feasibility study done on the site and take it from there.”
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