Olympian Rebecca Adlington takes plunge with new Swim Leeds pool to help children learn lifesaving skill
Olympian Rebecca Adlington is set to dive in and give youngster special swimming lessons with a new pool in south Leeds.
The record breaking gold medallist is set to open her Swim! Leeds at the former Magnet Kitchens showroom on City South Retail Park.
The members-only facility has been designed for children aged from babies until 11 to learn to swim.
As well as the pool, the plans include a dedicated viewing gallery, changing facilities, and retail space to “provide an excellent, inviting environment for children’s swim lessons”.
Class sizes will be limited with swimmers’ achievements celebrated with certificates and stickers.
According to the plans submitted to Leeds City Council earlier, there are more than 52,000 children living within a 15 minute drive of the site and “there are simply not enough lessons available within the area”. The closest is at Fearnville Leisure Centre.
The company also cites statistics from Sport England and Swim England, which show that more than 1,000 publicly accessible pools have closed since 2010, with a projected shortfall of 40 per cent in accessible pools by 2030 if no action is taken.