[Cleveland Pools] Christmas 2011 newsletter

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2011 is about to end and what a year it has been! We have seen some progress at last with our endeavours.
Following the local elections in May, the Trustees wrote to all the successful candidates asking for their help with our project to re-open the Pools. The new administration and their officers have been supportive ever since, generously providing rooms for meetings and a small grant to help with the planning application process.
Heritage Lottery Fund, Round One Application
Over the last few months our focus has been on preparing the Round One application to the Heritage Lottery Fund. This is probably the only route to the potential scale of funds that we need to reopen the Pools with a heated swimming pool and the meeting of all modern standards required for health and safety and public access. The application has two stages – the first stage (or Round One) is for development funding to enable us to prepare for the capital works and to develop our business planning. If successful, the second stage follows some time later and that will be an application to fund the works on site and all activity leading to opening up the Pools again for the public. The application is complex and time consuming and there is significant competition for HLF funding. The next Round One submission deadlines are in mid-February and early April. B&NES council are supporting the prospective application and councillors have expressed a commitment to reopen the Pools.
Fund-raising
To complement our HLF application we will embark on a sizeable fund raising initiative in the New Year. We are currently working on a strategy that will aim to raise at least Ł800,000. This will need a concerted effort from a number of volunteers, drafting applications to charitable trusts and donors. The council have offered us the use of the Assembly Rooms for a special launch event. We will need to deploy volunteers’ PR and marketing skills to promote the fund raising effort.
2011 Heritage Open Days and Charities Fair
In the past the Heritage Open Days each September have been the only way to show the Pools to the public. Several hundred come every year and have bought raffle tickets for the Bath Charities Annual Fair in November. This has been our main way of raising small amounts of money to pay for leaflets, insurance etc plus of course generous donations from the public. We could not manage without the team of volunteers who have weeded, produced new display material, acted as stewards and have provided items to sell at the Fair. So thanks again to everyone who has helped. Hundreds of questionnaires on paper, online and via social networking have been collected recently and the responses collated, to gauge the public’s view of swimming at the Pools. Names of those willing to take part in the Oral History project were also collected.
Oral History Project
The Heritage Open Days have demonstrated that a significant proportion of visitors had memories of swimming in the Cleveland Pools, some learned how to swim there, and most wanted future generations to enjoy this unique amenity. Bath Spa University have an Oral History specialism and positively welcomed the opportunity to direct and support an Oral History project, recording memories in written form and if practical, producing a DVD that can be used as exhibition material.
Heritage Education Programme
Another volunteer, who is on a Heritage Management Masters degree course at Bath Spa University, has taken on a co-ordinating role for our formative Heritage Education programme. This involves systematically building on existing requests for talks and discussions with ‘communities of interest’ such as Local History Societies, Heritage organisations, University of the Third Age, schools and University liaison.
Swimmers
Another volunteer, is to make contact with all local swimming groups including schools, to check out their potential interest in using the Pools. We understand that triathletes and canoeists might be interested in using the pool for training purposes.
Site Clearance
At the request of some of the weeding volunteers, regular sessions are now taking place for a couple of hours on the second Sunday of the month at 10 am weather permitting. The last two sessions have mainly involved leaf sweeping but do come and join us. You never know you might get to see the kingfisher close up.
New Project Manager
We now have a volunteer project manager, Rob Harding. Rob has recently retired from English Heritage and he brings a wealth of experience that has informed the substantial work that he has contributed for the HLF Round one application. Another volunteer, is working with Rob on developing project and programme management for the Pools project.
Volunteer book keeper needed!
A current priority is to recruit a volunteer book keeper…..Do you know anyone who would be willing to be a book keeper for the project? If so, please ask them to contact Ann Dunlop or Janice Dreisbach.
Last but not least, we would also like to recruit a volunteer who would be the volunteer co-ordinator – anyone interested?
Thank you again for all of your support in the last year. Enjoy your festive season – 2012 is going to be an even bigger challenge!
Happy Christmas from the Cleveland Pools Trustees.
The Cleveland Pools Trust
www.clevelandpools.org.uk
Company No: 5354621 Charity No: 1109433
Reg : Acacia Lodge, Kensington Place, Bath BA1 6AP

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