Information about making a donation
can be found on the attached page.
To contact Save Woolton Pool Fund, please e-mail
savewooltonpoolfund@yahoo.co.uk

All news regarding efforts to have WOOLTON POOL re-opened will now appear on this dedicated page.

SAVE WOOLTON POOL CAMPAIGN NOVEMBER NEWSLETTER
Youngest volunteer’s successful filter deal!
Firstly thanks to our tireless campaigner Elian McClements we have a gentleman’s agreement with Liverpool John Moores University to take ownership of the filters from IM Marsh pool when that facility is sadly demolished. A brilliant piece of business from our nine year old member!
Listing Application to English Heritage
We submitted the listing application for the building thanks to the dogged determination of two committee members; the Listing Officer has visited the premises and completed their report. The recommendation is now with English Heritage and the Department of Culture Media and Sport (DCMS).  We are on tenterhooks for a positive result.
Other good news on the fundraising front.
It was decided that the working fund for the campaign was too meagre because even though everyone gives their time for free certain vital requirements such as moving the filters and surveying the infrastructure of the building come at a cost so a big push for more funds was (and is) necessary.  The two main events turned out to be better than any of us could have hoped for. 
Bagpacking
Sainsburys kindly allowed Woolton Swimming Club to team up with Woolton Village Residents Association and hold a bag packing fundraiser at the tills on Saturday morning 15th October. This was a resounding success and raised £513.12 with the proceeds divided equally between Save Woolton Pool Fund, and WVRA Christmas Tree event.
Quarrymen Gig
The fabulous Quarrymen (the band that became the Beatles) offered to play a  gig for free with all proceeds going towards the baths campaign. Several band members had many happy times in the baths along with John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Supported by local musical talent from the Vic on Quarry Street, the gig in The British Legion, was a phenomenal success. With huge support from many local businesses donating prizes for a raffle we managed to raise over £2,400 on the night - a staggering amount. Just as importantly as the money was the thoroughly enjoyable evening, which gave everyone involved a lift, and the extra publicity the event generated keeping our campaign profile high. 
The  Woolton Society’s ‘Win a Culinary Experience  in Woolton’ Raffle
Promoter Meryl Kelbrick (Woolton Society),  License  holder Jane Eustance (Woolton Village Residents  Association)
No less than Eleven local restaurants have generously supported this ‘delicious’ prize event:
Raj : set meal for 2 : value - £21.95. (starter of 2 popadoms, 4 Sheek Kebab, Main Meal - 2 Meat Bhuna, 2 Prawn Masalla and 1 pilau rice and 1 Nan- from take away menu).
Caveau : meal for 2
Bubble Room: voucher for £30
Cello's : box of Wine - 6 bottles in total of 2 White Zinfandeel, 2 Chardonay, 2 Merlot
Elephant : meal voucher of £20
Fletchers : afternoon tea for 2
White Horse:  meal for 2 (£10.95 each)
Istanbul £15 voucher
King Do - £25 Voucher
Let's Eat - cake and drinks for 2
Khaja - a take away
Get your tickets asap, £1 each from Fletchers Tea Rooms
or Meryl Kelbrick Tel: 07919 060 688
All proceeds go to Save Woolton Pool Fund. The raffle is to be drawn at Cellos Wine Bar on the 15th December - 7.30pm.
Busy Busy Business planning
Behind the scenes the formulation of a business plan for presentation to the council is now our main priority. Over the coming  weeks we will be number crunching in earnest to create a model we believe  will ensure the viability of the baths in the short and long term before  vital meetings with council officers.
Just before I sign off I would like to give a special mention to Peter and the Woollton Village Residents Association volunteers who, largely unnoticed, have been keeping the building free of invasive weeds. Without this work the place would rapidly deteriorate to an irretrievable state.
Time ticks on but recently I feel we are edging ever forward toward a happy resolution in our fight to reopen our irreplaceable facility.
A  Final Request – help with volunteer database
We have a database of supporters who we would like to keep in touch with but we mostly only have postal addresses. We would like to be able to issue updates and requests for help and information by email. If you would like to receive news by email, please email us at:
savewooltonpoolfund@yahoo.co.uk
and we will be in touch  soon.
Thanks again for your support,
Simon O’Brien  CHAIRMAN

A massive THANK YOU to everyone who attended, supported and organised last nights QUARRYMEN gig in aid of the Save Woolton Pool Fund. The event raised in excess of £2,300.
Further events and a raffle are being organised, we will have more details soon. THANK YOU AGAIN...!!
In the meantime what we can't forget is that it is now just a week away from being exactly 12 months since the council unfairly closed our pool, we have to keep this campaign and fund moving in the right direction, this great event is one more step to getting Woolton Baths opened again.

Only 2 days left to get your tickets for THE QUARRYMEN gig...

Save Woolton Pool Fund have organised a fund raising evening starring  -



The event will take place at
Woolton British Legion Club from
8pm on Wednesday 19th October 2011.
Tickets are £15 each and are available from Brown's Newsagents and Fletcher's Tea Rooms in Woolton Village, or can be ordered by e-mailing savewooltonpoolfund@yahoo.co.uk

MAY NEWSLETTER 18/05/11
BUSY BUSY BUSY!
Well where do I start? The last few weeks have been a flurry of activity for members of the committee and we are feeling very positive indeed at the time of penning this newsletter.
You may have read in the press or heard on the radio over the last few days that the future of our beloved baths is by no means as bleak as some doomsayers predicted.
GOOD VIBES
After a very positive meeting at the baths with leading members of the council and relevant  council officers it was agreed that we would have at least 6 months to formulate a plan for the reopening of the baths and its future operation. The council have also promised to keep the pool in good repair whilst that dialogue continues. I was personally overjoyed at how well the old place had stood up to the bitter cold of the winter months and the sudden warm snap we have just had proving what we all knew already that the Baths is well built and nearly operational right now. Those Victorians built things to last!
OFFICERS OFFERS
Since the meeting at the baths we have also held direct talks with the council officers to glean as much information and take advantage of the expertise they have to offer. Once more the meeting was very positive and we are now starting to look very closely at the running costs and operational procedures of the pool on the councils database in order to formulate a detailed business plan for the running of the pool in partnership with the council.
 MONEY, MONEY, MONEY
As if that wasn’t enough news we have also officially formed a fundraising committee headed by Sam Sullivan and Tracy McClements, the mums of the two boys, Elian and Jake, who started the campaign off (I suspect Elian and Jake will probably be in charge of the committee really). So if you have any suggestions, offers of help or cash you would like to put forward please email bawildebird@hotmail.co.uk Tracy and Sam are currently organising a fundraising event with live music to be held in The Woolton Club who have kindly offered the venue for free.
MANY HANDS
On a practical note we are desperately seeking a minutes secretary for meetings, good shorthand and the desire to see the baths open again and availability for an hour every fortnight is all thats required.
We will be calling a public meeting in the near future to get feedback on the campaign so far and answer any questions anyone may have about progress
FLYING A KUYT
Finally a huge Thank You (and it pains me to say this as a Blue) to Dirk Kuyt for taking time out to support the campaign. I believe his involvement was the catalyst for the change in fortunes of the pool.
Yours hopefully,
Simon O'Brien
Chairman

28/3/11 - Woolton Baths Newsletter.

• First and foremost the response to the appeal has been fabulous. Thanks to everyone for the donations and offers of help.
• It has taken a bit of time to get the basics sorted out so for everyone who has volunteered time and expertise thanks for your patience, we will be in touch soon! (We particularly need someone to open and run a Facebook page for the campaign).
• We now have a bank account with around £1,500 worth of donations safely deposited. A great start but keep those donations coming! This money will be put toward the first target of getting the filters repaired to remove the only real excuse the council has of not reopening the baths in the short term whilst the long term running of the pool is decided.
• We will be staging a fundraising event in the near future (watch this space) and if anyone has any fundraising ideas we would love to hear them.
• Long term we are putting together some structured proposals to take to the council about the running of the pool based on different models already in existence elsewhere.
• On top of that we are actively seeking to get the pool listed and have had a great response from The Victorian Society who immediately saw the value of our historic pool on a national level. This would open up some interesting funding opportunities.
• If anyone has any photographs of the pool inside or out from any era we would love to have a copy and short description of the moment.
• Finally congratulations to Elian and Jake the two Bishop Martin boys who got the campaign rolling last year. As well as appearing on TV and BBC radio 2 the lads have just been awarded a community spirit award for their fabulous efforts to save the pool.
• Let me assure you that despite the doors remaining temporarily closed if everyone continues to support the campaign financially and energetically we will have our fabulous pool reopened with a real splash (sorry couldn't resist)

   

  19/03/11 - The SAVE WOOLTON POOL group are making some progress with getting the pool re-opened, they are waiting for a further meeting with the council to discuss shared responsibilities for the pool. However in order to do this they need to start raising significant funds, therefore if anyone wants to make any donations, has ideas for raising funds or wishes to get involved please get in touch through the website.
  Also the process for having the building listed at Grade II status has been put in motion, but I imagine this could take some time.
  A Newsletter will be issued 1st April with all details of where the group stands at that point, I will provide details as I have them.
  

16/03/11 - Apologies for not updating the page in recent weeks.
Although there isn't much to tell at the moment, there are discussions ongoing with the council regarding a "Community Group" taking some control of the pool. However this is in the very early stages, and I will let people know what progress there has been as soon as I can.

27/1/11 - I have been informed that Joe Anderson today stated on Radio Merseyside that Woolton Pool will not be re-opening.
Don Robinson has been asked to give an interview on the Simon Hoban show on Merseyside at about 5 o'clock today.

25/1/11 - If you follow the link here, you will be able to read the reply I recieved from our Council Leader when I wrote expressing concern about the ongoing closure and also supplied details passed to us by the ASA regading possible funding and expert advice that may be available.

24/1/11 - Don and various other members of the campaign attended the full council meeting on Wednesday 19th January to put forward our opinion on the council's closure of the pool. Simon O'Brien spoke along with the boys from Bishop Marten and were well received by some council members. However the opinion of the ruling party seems to basically be that in these days of massive cuts and a huge loss in cash from Central Government, "Something has to give."
It would seem that Woolton Pool was picked as an easy target for them and they have used the age of the building to convince themselves that they would get away with telling us it wasn't viable.
We need to keep up pressure and not let this slip away, as they need to understand that people wont just lie down and accept this. Further meetings will hopefully be arranged, I will post details on here PLEASE come along and support the efforts of the club, the community, the local schools and some members of the council. THANK YOU.

20/01/11 - We would like to thank everyone who turned up to support the photo shoot at the Town Hall on Saturday 15th January. Thanks also to Simon O'Brien for getting the media involved in the efforts to raise awareness of the closure of Woolton Pool. Simon has e-mailed and asked us to aslo pass on his thanks to everyone who got involved.
Hopefully you managed to see us on Granada Reports on both Saturday and Wednesday. As well as a lot of coverage on BBC Radio Merseyside on Wednesday morning when our glorious leader Don was interviewed outside the pool along with the two boys from Bishop Marten school who started the petition.

14/01/11 - MEDIA PUBLICITY SHOOT
             SATURDAY 15th January 11am.
Meet 10.45, Exchange Flags, back of the Town Hall.
IN YOUR SWIM SUIT..!
AND BRING A COUPLE OF LITRES OF WATER TO HELP FILL THE POOL..
Simon O'Brien has made contact with the local media and made arrangements for a publicity shoot to raise awareness of Woolton Pool closure. We have promised to pass on Simon's messge as follows:
 The best time for a publicity shot is 11am on Saturday morning. It should only take half an hour. Don't worry this is not a demo so placards and banners not needed. Just as many people in swimsuits that care enough about our lovely baths who dare to stand on Castle St outside the Town Hall in January as possible!
I would also ask everyone to bring 2 litres of water (or as much as you can carry) to help the pictures. The press seem very keen but as next week is a big News week anyway regarding the council cuts the feeling is the sooner the better. Saturday seems best so the disenfranchised children can take part too.
If you could let us know if you intend to be there so we have some idea of numbers for safety reasons. Please e-mail wooltonsc@googlemail.com and let me know who's coming.
Alternatively if you want any further info, contact Simon O'Obrien directly simonob@me.com Ta

09/01/2011 - COUNCIL MEETING 19/01/2011.
We are hoping to get involved in a publicity stunt to raise awareness of the continuing closure of WOOLTON POOL before the council meeting on 19/1/11.
The event will probably take place over the weekend of 15-16th Jan,so we will post details here as we get them, so please check back here for further info.
Local residents, users of the pool, the local schools, local TV Celeb Simon O'Brien and the Lib/Dem councillors are all fighting to save Woolton baths, please support us.....Thank you.

20/12/10 - THE NEWS FROM THE COUNCIL IS NOT GOOD..!
Don attended a council Leisure Services Committee meeting last week and unfortunately the news was not good. They stated that all the work required including the filters and other work found on the survey will cost in excess of £125,000.
We will keep you informed of developments, meanwhile reduced lessons will resume at Speke in the New Year.

3/12/10 - Having e-mailed the Council again, this is the latest information we have from them: 
    “Unfortunately Woolton Swimming Pool closed on 27th October 2010 due to a technical problem with the pool filters. The problem has finally been identified and quotations are currently being sought from specialised suppliers for the work required. Whilst the facility is closed we are alos taking the opportunity to undertake a structural survey of the building and are awaiting the report. Once we have the cost of repairs and the recommendations from the structural survey we can inform elected members who will determine the next step.
    We now expect the pool to be closed until Christmas. We apologize to all users for the inconvenience this may have caused and will advise customers accordingly once we are in a position to do so. The website has been updated with this information.
    Schools, community groups and the Swimming Club have been offered alternative sessions at other pools. For casual users the nearest alternative swimming pools to Woolton are at Lifestyles Austin Rawlinson, Lifestyles Garston and Liverpool Aquatics Centre.”
Thank you to Don Hurst at the Council for supplying this info.

25/11/10 - We still have no news regarding the work or possible re-opening of the pool despite numerous requests for information from the Council. With this in mind and with the lack of work being done at present, it now looks like it will be after Christmas before any possibility of getting back in to Woolton. There is a petition doing the rounds regarding any closure or threat of closure for Woolton baths, so if you see a copy please make sure you sign it, if not ask at one of our Speke sessions as we will be pushing this. Thank you for your patience.

17/11/10 - Don has managed to get use of the Pool at Austin Rawlinson, Speke for 1 hour (8 'til 9) from Friday 26/11/10.
This will be open for all boxes 1 to 4 and 2nd hour members. We realise this is late for some of the little ones but that's all we can get at the minute, he is still working on getting some pool time for adults.
After being on the Roger Phillips radio programme on Radio Merseyside on Monday 15th, Don managed to get a response from the council that basically says that they are waiting for quotes on the work to be undertaken at Woolton and until they have them and have made a decision regarding the repairs they cannot give a timescale for re-opening but it will be at least 4 weeks.
Click here to visit the council page for details.

15/11/10 - Woolton still closed, Wednesday sessions remain at Austin Rawlinson until further notice. Follow the link here to go to Liverpool Council Website for latest info.

1/11/10 - Unfortunately Woolton Pool remains closed.
The latest we have heard is that it could now be a further two weeks before Woolton re-opens.
This means that for the time being
ALL Monday, Friday and Sunday sessions will be CANCELLED.
We have however managed to transfer WEDNESDAY'S sessions to Speke Pool (address on Where,When...page.) until further notice.
Apologies for any inconvenience but please stay in touch and keep checking the website for more details.

28/10/10 - WOOLTON POOL TEMPORARY CLOSURE - Due to a problem with the filters at Woolton pool, it will be closed until at least Monday 1st November. Check back for any further info as we get it.

***** CANCELLED - HALLOWEEN PARTY SPLASH NIGHT - FRIDAY 29th OCTOBER 2010.