'Distress' as former Peterborough hydro pool site still stands 'decaying' five years after it was closed
Campaigners have spoken of their ‘distress’ and ‘frustration’ by the sight of the city’s former hydrotherapy pool lying ‘neglected and decaying’ five years after it was shut.
In 2022 The Peterborough Telegraph exclusively revealed that the St George’s Hydrotherapy Pool was to be closed for good – with plans later revealed that the pool would be turned into classrooms for Heltwate School.
The pool had actually been closed since the COVID pandemic in 2020 – meaning it has been empty for five years now.
Since then, people who used the pool – normally for medical and physiotherapy purposes – have had few options in the city to get hydrotherapy treatment.
Now, five years on, Karen Oldale, St George's Friends and Service Users' Lead, has spoken of the frustration people are feeling.
She said: “It’s now five years since St George's Community Hydrotherapy Pool closed. It’s incredibly frustrating and distressing to see the site unnecessarily lie neglected and decaying when it could have been used to improve residents' health. And of course, there is no alternative aquatic physiotherapy (hydrotherapy) service available in the area. This is despite the assurances we received that a new hydrotherapy pool would be built. “We know the loss of access to a hydrotherapy pool has had a very detrimental impact on many local people's health and wellbeing. Even now I regularly receive messages from people who are absolutely desperate to access a hydrotherapy pool. It’s heartbreaking. The whole affair has been a most shameful and terrible waste.”
The future of the old St George’s site is set to be discussed by Peterborough City Council’s cabinet in September.
A council spokesperson said: “At present no building work has started on site, but officers have been working on design surveys and cost planning. Cabinet will be asked next month to approve the contractor (following a competitive tender process) to deliver the conversion of the St Georges Hydro Pool to classrooms for St Georges SEN school.”
Plans have been revealed for a new hydrotherapy pool at the Thistlemoor Medical Centre. The Peterborough Telegraph has contacted the centre on a number of occasions this month in a bid to find out what the latest update on the facility is, but have not yet received a response.