See below for details of a letter from our own Community Councillor, Roy Sinclair, about the current state of progress for the Black Isle Swimming Pool campaign.
Dear all
Many to those who attended our very helpful meeting held in the Black Isle Leisure Centre in Fortrose on 26th April to discuss a way forward for the project to achieve a Black Isle Swimming Pool for the Black Isle located in Fortrose.
A good attendance of interested and enthusiastic folk attended this meeting which unanimously resolved to adopt a distinctly positive approach to continuing with the project.
It was agreed that a steering group should be established to assist the existing committee in developing a strategy to re-energise the project with several of those present at the meeting indicating willingness to join such a group.
The option to develop the project as a Community Enterprise based project could well be the most effective way to achieve success, with the possible opportunity to run the swimming pool facility in tandem with the existing Leisure Centre facility to which the pool would be linked. This concept will now be looked at in greater detail and discussed with Highlife Highland and Highland Council. If there is merit in this approach the idea would be worked-up and discussed with the people of the Black Isle.
The alternative option would be to proceed as before to build and operate the pool as a separate community-owned venture, but in conjunction with the Leisure Centre, with prices set to meet costs.
In parallel, we are now looking to update the 2009 Business Plan so that accurate estimates can be made of capital and revenue projections for the two options. We hope that the costs of the updating will attract financial help from public funders, with whom we are now in touch.
We will aim to keep the Black Isle community informed of progress.
Meantime, there is a need to broaden the base of those interested in helping to take this project forward, and anyone out there willing to give a little time to getting a pool for the Black Isle, please contact the undersigned at - bispfmanagement@gmail.com
Yours sincerely
Roy R Sinclair
Chairman-Black Isle Swimming Pool Foundation
