Popular Worksop swim school to close after council rejected plans to allow private pool to be used by businesses

Louise’s Swim School that currently operates from a private pool at Hodsock Lodge Farm, Woodhouse Lane, Hodsock is being forced to close after Bassetlaw District Council rejected a retrospective planning application for a change of use to allow the pool to be used for private hire.

Louise Gillott, aged 43, has been running her swimming business for 10 years and had been operating lessons from the Hodsock pool for the past 15 months after moving from the pool at Freshfield Spa in Worksop when the property was sold.

Louise, who runs the classes with Nicola Walters, currently has around 70 children taking part in the lessons and a full waiting list.

She said: “I just wasn’t expecting it, given how many people in the community use the facility and given swimming is such a valuable life skill, it seems such a shame.

"Covid-19 sadly closed many government funded swimming pools in the locality including Radford, Hucknall and outdoor paddling pools. Therefore, locally owned, private swimming pools are a priceless lifeline for local communities to hire.“It’s heartbreaking for me but more than anything it’s just absolutely devastating for the children who will miss out. The families are absolutely gutted, there’s no other word for it. They are more than just clients to us, a lot have become close friends so it really is so sad.”

Louise says the lack of pool facilities in the region means she will be forced to shut her successful business at the end of this month unless an alternative venue can be found.

Stephen Mellor is amongst the families affected and is calling for the decision to be reversed.

He said: “Our daughter and other children in the Bassetlaw area have lost access to this superb facility and the incredible teaching of Louise and her team. More importantly Louise has now effectively lost her business.”

A number of objections to the planning application were received from nearby residents concerned over road safety.

One letter of objection states: “The extra traffic already flowing from the businesses is already felt substantially in the volume of traffic and makes all activities dangerous. These businesses have only been open since January, according to their own websites, so are new and still building clientele. Therefore the danger and risk to life is only going to increase. This is a serious risk to highway safety along Woodhouse Lane.”

A spokesperson for Bassetlaw District Council said: “All planning applications are determined having regard to the development plan and relevant material planning considerations, and this retrospective application for change of use was contrary to a number of the development plan policies. The main factors being, the swimming pool is not considered to be in a suitable or sustainable location, and concerns about the single lane road access to the pool, which drew objections from the County Council as the Highway Authority.”

Anyone in a position to help Louise with an alternative pool venue is urged to contact her via email [email protected]