The former mayor's appeal raised £10,000, shared by Whitchurch Community Swimming Pool and St Michael's Hospice. The pool, shut since 2019, is being rebuilt.

A volunteer-run charity trying to reopen Whitchurch’s swimming pool has been given £5,000 from the former Mayor of Basingstoke and Deane’s charity appeal.

Cllr Colin Phillimore, mayor in 2025/26, raised £10,000 during his year in office. It is shared equally between Whitchurch Community Swimming Pool and St Michael’s Hospice. The cheques were handed over at the Civic Offices, the borough council said on Tuesday 27 October. (Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council, news release 10808, 27 October 2026)

The money came from direct donations and from the mayor’s events, including a Variety Show and a Rock Show at The Anvil.

What £5,000 means to the pool

Whitchurch is in the borough, about 12 miles west of Basingstoke. Its pool has been shut since 2019.

“For a small, volunteer-led charity like ours, £5,000 is not just a nice addition to a fundraising total, it has genuine value,” said Janin Cromarty, a trustee of the charity. She said it would help pay for “the equipment, improvements and infrastructure needed to turn an empty, closed swimming pool back into something that can be used by thousands of people in our community for years to come”.

St Michael’s Hospice said its £5,000 “could fund more than 218 hours of nursing care”.

The pool’s story

The charity’s own history of the pool says:

  • it was built in 1964 as a school pool at what was then Whitchurch Secondary Modern, now Testbourne Community School, with money raised by the community
  • it is 23.4 metres long and 9.7 metres wide, 1.1m deep at the shallow end and 2.1m at the deep end
  • it was refurbished in 2013, closed in 2019 and never reopened
  • a local campaign followed, and volunteers are now bringing it back into use

(Whitchurch Community Swimming Pool, about the pool)

The charity registered in July 2023. (Charity Commission, charity 1203994)

When could it open?

Not yet. Building work began on site in spring. In its last progress update, in May, the charity said a new office, kitchen and toilet block and a bigger plant room were on track to be built by the end of May. All the machinery that runs the pool is being replaced, and the fibreglass edging swapped for stone. (Whitchurch Community Swimming Pool, April 2026 update)

On opening, the charity was frank. “Realistically, we are unlikely to fully open to the public this year,” it wrote. It said it might open to some groups late this year and consider limited public opening, “but at this stage, it’s not guaranteed”.

The plan is to open first as a cold-water pool. The charity said it cannot yet afford to heat it. It has taken out the gas supply and plans heat pumps and solar panels when the money allows.

What it means for you

  • The pool needs volunteers. In March the charity said that without a volunteer general manager to take the project forward, “we won’t be able to open” (role advert). Contact it through wcsp.org.uk.
  • You can still give. The charity’s site links to a donation page.
  • If you swim in the cold, this may be your pool first. Heating comes later.

The new mayor’s appeal for 2026/27 is on the council’s mayor page.