Abbey Meadow outdoor pool’s future secured for many more summers of fun

Families will be able to enjoy summer holidays at Abbey Meadow outdoor pool and splash pad in Abingdon for years to come, despite spiralling energy costs that have closed pools all around the country.

The school holidays are by far the pool’s busiest time, and so Vale of White Horse District Council pulled out the stops to agree a deal that ensures it can open when it’s most needed, even though running costs like oil to heat the pool have more than doubled.

Increasingly high running costs and the impact of the pandemic, along with other significant financial challenges facing all local authorities have meant more than 200 swimming pools have closed around the country in the past couple of years.

To help address these significant financial challenges and ensure the pool could remain open, last year the council agreed a financial package with GLL, the company the council employs to run the pool. The agreement sets out the summer holiday opening schedule, which will run until 2026. This year, the pool is scheduled to open on 25 July and will remain open for six weeks throughout the holidays.

The outdoor pool is very costly to run, and has always needed to be heavily subsidised, even when at its busiest. Heating costs for the pool alone this season are expected to be around £107,000, compared to £47,000 in previous seasons*.  

However, aligning the pool’s season with its most financially viable period reduces the financial burden to Vale council taxpayers, and helps ensure the council can protect and maintain its vital frontline public services such as waste and recycling, housing support and play areas and public spaces.

The council has worked with GLL to make it possible to open the splash pad at Abbey Meadow a few weeks earlier than the pool, from Saturday 28 May ahead of the Platinum Jubilee long weekend, the same time as the splash pad in Wantage which is manged by the council’s inhouse team.

Cllr Helen Pighills, Cabinet Member for Healthy Communities at the Vale, said: “We’re pleased to have a deal that keeps the Abbey Meadow pool and splash pad open for years to come.

“We know that this is a much-loved facility and making sure it was open during the main school summer holidays, was a priority for us, especially when many households may not be able to afford holidays this year with the cost of living so high.

“We’ve looked at a wide range of options and have listened to the public’s feedback. Aligning the pool’s season with the school summer holidays is a financially sensible option and means we’ve been able to secure the pool’s future and ensure our residents can enjoy it when they need it most, all while protecting our other vital services.”

Note for editors

*Fuel costs for 2019/20 (which was the last full season due to Covid-19) for heating Abbey Meadow Pool were £47,000 and this season the costs are estimated to be £107,000

You can find out more about Abbey Meadow pool on the Better UK website