CAMPAIGNERS who tried to stop Bradford Council closing Queensbury Pool hope running it as a community asset can secure its future.

The Council approved closure of the facility at a meeting this month, despite letters from more than 1,000 local children pleading for it to remain open.

The letters - from pupils of 16 schools that use the pool - have now been sent to Downing Street.

In the meantime, work has started to explore running the pool as a community asset. Currently, it will close in 2019 when new pools open.

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Queensbury had originally been poised to get a new pool under the former plans to remodel local leisure services.

But rising costs meant the whole scheme was re-considered, and plans for new pools in Queensbury and the city centre were scrapped.

Under the new plans, Richard Dunn, Queensbury and Bingley pools will close while two new pools will be built in the Girlington and Odsal areas.

In 2015/2016, it cost £130,653 to run Queensbury Pool.

Resident Sian Stebbings, who led a campaign to save the pool, said: “It would be fantastic for the community if there was a way to keep the pool open.

“Our intention the whole time was to ensure there is somewhere for children to swim.”

Campaigner Norah McWilliam said: “I think it is going to be a big challenge. At the moment no-one has come forward with anything that resembles a business plan.

“It is a serious undertaking. It is a very expensive building to run and there is some work that needs doing, such as wiring.”

She added: “It is all up for grabs at this stage. The decision has only just been taken by the Council, but I cannot see anyone in the community with the serious appetite for it.

“There is a lot of noise on Facebook, but it is a very serious business undertaking. It is a fantastic building, but very expensive to run. Anyone interested should come forward.”

Council leader Councillor Susan Hinchcliffe said: “We are keen to work with people in the community who are interested adopting the pool as a community asset. We have worked with other community groups regarding community asset transfer and can talk interested parties through the process. There are many successful models of community-managed sports facilities across the country.”

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