Freedom Leisure axes children’s swimming clubs at New Forest’s Applemore, Lymington and Totton centres

HUNDREDS of children could be denied swimming lessons after the firm running New Forest leisure centres told clubs to stop using its sites as they “compete” with its own lessons.

A campaign has already been launched to save one group, Applemore and Waterside Swimming Club (AWSC), which has been teaching youngsters at Applemore Leisure Centre for 40 years. The club was given three months’ notice to cease lessons by operator Freedom Leisure, which runs the New Forest District Council-owned centres, also including Lymington, New Milton, Ringwood and Totton.

The club teaches around 130 pupils aged between five and 13, whose parents pay a small charge to cover the cost of the pool hire.

Chair of the swimming group Graham Clements told the A&T that stopping the lessons, which take place on Saturdays, would be “devastating” for many low-income families as well as those with disabled children.

He said following a meeting with the area manager of Freedom Leisure, Peter Cheeseman, last month, all swimming clubs which use the five leisure centres were told they would have to find new venues for their lessons.

He said: “The reason given was we and all the other community clubs are in direct competition with their own Learn to Swim lessons, which has never been a problem for the 40-plus years these clubs have been running.

“As you will understand, all of us were in complete shock following this news as the only venues available across the New Forest area are those run by this company.

“Going forward, hundreds of children will no longer have access to affordable community-based swimming lessons, and children with disabilities will not have a chance to be included in our supported sessions.”

Pupils supported by the swimming club included many with medical and physical needs as well as autism, ADHD, confidence issues and other disabilities.

One child, who is autistic, could not attend any other lessons, he said, because of a lack of staff to give him one-to-one attention he needed.

Since joining seven years ago he now loves swimming and is making great progress, he added.

A petition to raise awareness of the club’s plight has collected almost 500 signatures in 24 hours.

Also affected by the changes is Romsey and Totton Swimming Club, which runs a programme at Totton Leisure Centre on Friday evenings.

Head coach Steve Harrison, a former professional swimmer and Commonwealth Games medallist, told the A&T how Freedom Leisure had told them it could no longer hire the pool to run lessons after 31st December, although it can still use the slot for club training purposes.

He explained: “Freedom Leisure want to stop all lessons as they say we are in direct conflict with their lessons.

“The reason we set up as we did is so children starting their swimming journey at the beginning can see where it can end up.

“Lessons through Freedom Leisure account for 26-and-a-half hours per week and at prime times, whereas we have 6.30pm to 8.30pm one night a week.

“I don’t understand how they can say we are in conflict.”

He said the club – which has been running for 33 years – employs swimming teachers but was also helped by older children who had progressed through the club who volunteer as swim buddies.

The weekly group teaches more than 60 children from stages one to seven.

He added: “Freedom Leisure want to pull the plug and it will adversely affect the way we run the club.”

A spokesperson for Lymington Swimming Club, which meets at the town’s health and leisure centre on Saturday evenings, said it had called a meeting of its members to vote on how to proceed.

She said: “We’re gutted that this policy has been the death blow to a club, running for over 100 years, to ensure local children have the stamina and water safety skills needed when living by the sea, and at a subsidised local rate families can achieve.”

Run by volunteers, the group was founded in 1891 after a child drowned in Lymington River. It offers low cost lessons and bursaries to those who cannot afford to pay.

Support for the groups has come from Liberal Democrat district councillors Malcolm Wade and Caroline Rackham, who told the A&T they were “outraged” and “horrified” by the news.

Cllr Wade said he had written to NFDC’s chief executive Kate Ryan asking whether the council had any input into the decision.

He said: “I am absolutely appalled – the wellbeing of our residents has been a central pillar of our council strategy for as long as I can recall, and this action by Freedom Leisure drives a train through that by denying use of the pools to long-standing swimming clubs and users of our facilities.

“This action is another in a long line of service level reductions by Freedom Leisure, which equate to service level reductions by this council, to the council taxpayers of our district.

“This decision needs to be reversed and a more cohesive way to address requests for operational changes from Freedom Leisure put in place to prevent inappropriate actions such as this."

Cllr Rackham added: “I am horrified to learn of these changes to the way some of our most vulnerable residents can swim.

“It's incredibly difficult for some of the swimming club members to be accommodated [elsewhere] so may well mean that some young people are simply not taught to swim.

“The impact of this could mean that some residents have a much poorer relationship with exercise later in life but also, of course, could be life-threatening and will certainly limit what activities they will be able to enjoy.

“I'm really disappointed that our leisure centres are treating community clubs in this way.”

Responding to the outcry, a spokesperson for Freedom Leisure told the A&T that since its takeover in July 2021 it had honoured all bookings of regular hirers and would continue to offer subsidised rates to clubs to ensure their viability.

They added that: “Across the UK, the normal operating model, supported and endorsed by Swim England and Swim Wales, is that the operator provides the learn to swim programme, accredited by the national governing bodies, and the swimming clubs provide the pathway for participants to continue onto competitive swimming.”

Freedom Leisure’s area manager Peter Cheeseman said: “We want to reassure everyone that no child will miss out on their regular swimming lesson as a result of this decision.

“We will provide spaces on our programme at our three swimming pools and we will honour the prices charged by the swim clubs for lessons should the clubs decide not to relocate.”

He added: “It is also worth noting that all children on our swim academy also have free access to swim during our public open sessions so they can continue to practise what they are taught in their lessons and enjoy the water with friends and family.

“We are already in talks with one of the clubs to establish closer links and to offer a pathway to competitive swimming from our swim academy, should participants choose to continue their swimming journey having learnt to swim with us.”