Friends of Fanshawe

Friends of Fanshawe Friends of Fanshawe is a team of committed volunteers led by the Ware Swimming Club, working to get the doors of Fanshawe pool and gym reopen.

https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/save-fanshawe-swimming-pool-and-gym

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/87F3N93 This is the official page for Friends of Fanshawe, a group of committed volunteers working to reopen Fanshawe pool and gym for the local community. Due to funding cuts, Ware’s only indoor pool was closed in December 2024. The pool site is owned by Chauncy School and they cannot afford to run

a pool when school budgets are under such pressure. We are working together to raise funds to reopen the pool and bring it into community management for the benefit of local people. The closure of the pool has been a huge loss to the community. As well as offering gym facilities and public swimming opportunities, it was also used by local schools for swimming lessons. In addition, it had its own swim school teaching thousands of children and adults to swim. The pool was also home to Ware Swimming club, an organisation that celebrated its 90th anniversary last year. The club provides a safe, happy place to keep young people off the streets and teach them valuable life skills such as teamwork and leadership. The loss of its home pool puts into jeopardy almost a century of sporting endeavour and friendship for young people in the town. The loss of the town’s indoor pool has resulted in a reduction in the number of health and leisure facilities in Ware at a time when the local population is increasing and will inevitably mean more congestion on the roads as people are forced to travel further afield to Hertford or Bishop’s Stortford. The pool is essential for healthy lifestyle choices and the physical and mental benefits of swimming are widely documented. It is a valuable resource in the battle against obesity, helps reduce social isolation amongst more vulnerable groups and helps keep our young people safe particularly given the waterways in and around the town. A community group comprised of passionate swimmers and volunteers has come together and is currently working on putting together a business plan for reopening the pool as a community pool. This is a not-for-profit community endeavour but after years of under investment we need to raise funds for repairs to the plant and equipment as well as hire staff to run the pool. The town council has already pledged a significant amount of money but it falls short of the funds needed. We have therefore launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise £195,000 within 8 weeks to secure the future of the pool. This is an “all or nothing campaign” meaning that if we do not reach our target within 8 weeks, all donations are returned and the pool will be lost for good. Please share this page and donate if you can. Links to crowd funding and usage survey are found under the intro section of this page.

Latest update-
09/11/2025

Latest update-

31/07/2025
We’ll be at Ware Festival and Ware 10s next weekend. We’re ready to answer your questions, please come and support us!
29/06/2025

We’ll be at Ware Festival and Ware 10s next weekend. We’re ready to answer your questions, please come and support us!

Yes please UK Government!
22/06/2025

Yes please UK Government!

Yes please
22/06/2025

Yes please

21/06/2025

🌊🌞 Enjoy the water this weekend
Have fun, make memories — but please stay safe.
If you get into trouble in water - float to live.
https://orlo.uk/WSv8o

A big thank you to Sharron Davies for her support
11/06/2025

A big thank you to Sharron Davies for her support

08/06/2025

One month after our crowdfunding campaign concluded with massive support from the local community, we thought it timely to give a further update.

Last month representatives of the Friends of Fanshawe group were invited to a Governors’ meeting at Chauncy school to discuss our proposed operating model for the pool and gym going forward. The proposal demonstrated how the pool can be made financially viable and how we propose to resolve the historical massive under-investment in the facility in order to make it fit for purpose for the future. There were a number of follow up questions after the meeting, which we are in the process of addressing in time for the next Governors’ meeting at the end of this month.

In the meantime, work continues. We are in the process of setting up the legal entity to run the facility and are still interested in talking to members of the local community who are interested in becoming a trustee. In particular we would like to talk to people who are community-minded, have a professional skill-set, a can-do attitude and time to invest. If you are interested in finding out more, please reach out for an informal discussion.

We are also continuing our fundraising efforts since the more money we have behind us, the better we can make the facility. Come and see us at upcoming events. We will be at Carnival Day & the Town Fair on Saturday 5th July and Ware Festival of Running on 6th July.

08/06/2025

Address

Park Road
Ware
SG120DP

Telephone

+441920466967

Website

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