Shropshire's swimming champions highlight need for new county pool

Shropshire's young swimmers delivered outstanding performances at its recent championships, as the county's swimming association makes a fresh plea to unlock funding for a new pool to serve swimmers of all ages and abilities across the county.

The Shropshire Amateur Swimming Association held its annual championships at Wolverhampton Central Baths from 24 January to 7 February, attracting 331 swimmers from all 10 of the county's affiliated clubs. The competitors took on 18 events across three weekends, completing over 21 hours of racing and 2,335 swims.

Three county records were broken during the championships, with Esmay Jones from Wrekin Swimming Club breaking both the 50m and 1500m 14-year-old female freestyle records and Rory Yarnley from Northgate taking the 100m individual medley male/open 14-year-old record.

Megan Frost, chair of the Shropshire Amateur Swimming Association, which represents around 1,500 members, said: "These championships show what our young swimmers can achieve when they have proper facilities and dedicated support. Yet our athletes have to travel to Wolverhampton and beyond to compete. We must act now to bring a modern pool facility back to the county."

Oliver Morgan, who started swimming with Ludlow Swimming Club and competed for Great Britain at the 2024 Summer Olympics, said: "Having access to quality local facilities is the foundation of any athlete's journey. Swimming has given me so much, but without a dedicated competition pool in Shrewsbury, we risk losing the heart of the sport in Shropshire. Just look at what happened to me once I'd made the move to uni – having the facilities is key to your dreams.

“We need to invest in the Sundorne pool now to ensure that future local swimmers have the same opportunities to train and compete right here at home."

The proposed Shrewsbury Sports Village Transformation Project at Sundorne would deliver a modern competition and training pool and the £28.8m scheme has passed planning and secured Scrutiny Committee endorsement following overwhelming public support during

consultation. But despite £2m of taxpayers' money already invested in detailed plans, Shropshire Council paused the project, citing budget constraints.

Shrewsbury's existing Quarry Pool has been deemed "end of life" by Shropshire Council with repairs costing the authority £423,000 in 2023/24 alone. It is thought the facility may be forced to close for refurbishment lasting 18 months to two years, potentially leaving Shrewsbury without a public swimming pool during that period and a generation of children unable to swim.

Megan said the new pool would benefit far more than competitive swimmers offering enriching activities for young people, supporting fitness and health for adults and providing accessible facilities for people with disabilities and older residents managing long-term health conditions.

"The government's Youth Matters strategy, published in December 2025, emphasises the need to provide young people with access to high-quality sport and physical activity. A new swimming pool in Shrewsbury would directly support this aim."

"This would be a facility for our community, not just competitive swimmers. Our young people deserve the same opportunities as those in other parts of the country."

Shropshire Council will discuss the Sundorne project at a full cabinet meeting later this month. Shropshire ASA is urging the community to support a scheme that would transform not only sport in Shropshire but the wellbeing of the county as a whole.

An e-petition calling for the Sundorne project to proceed is now live and seeking 1,000 signatures.