Peterborough hydrotherapy pool takes a step closer to being handed over to Heltwate School

The St George’s Hydrotherapy Pool site in Dogsthorpe has taken a step closer to being taken over by Heltwate School.

The city council, which pulled out negotiations to sell the site at a very late stage last year, has confirmed that it has now completed a feasibility study into the possibility of the neighbouring Heltwate at St George’s School taking over the site.

In May last year, the special school’s headteacher Adam Brewster said that it would be a “missed opportunity” if the school could not benefit from the additional space of the hydrotherapy pool site.

He added: “The building could very easily be converted to give us some specialist facilities. It could house two large teaching spaces or an appropriate sensory hall, provide some PE space, break out rooms, community areas, work experience, alternative provision etc.

“This in turn would go some way towards compensating for the lack of outdoor space. It would certainly help make St. George’s more fit for purpose."

The council did not specifically state the outcome of the feasibility study when asked by the Peterborough Telegraph but did confirm it would be taking the proposals for consideration for funding “shortly.”

The pool was closed by the council in April despite strong opposition from user groups and councillors and has not been used since before the pandemic.

The site is now set to be used as a polling station for the Park Ward upcoming local elections on May 4.

A trial offering hydrotherapy in the city at Lime Academy in Orton is expected to run until at least the end of the financial year but concerns over cost and the facilities themselves have been raised by user groups.