Bucksburn Swimming Pool may have closed today but the community is determined it will not be for the last time.
Sunday was tinged with sadness as families and club members arrived to enjoy their final swim at the much-loved Aberdeen pool.
The Save Bucksburn Swimming Pool campaign group has been working tirelessly over the past six weeks to try stop the closure.
On its final day, they decided to host a celebration to highlight how much the pool has meant to the community over the years.
Despite the rain, residents gathered outside the building to enjoy music from local singer Emma Lament and share their memories.
Many view the pool as so much more than just a place to swim, also acting as a space for mental healing and much-needed socialising.
‘Community spirit is still here’
Last month, Sport Aberdeen confirmed that the pool would be closing permanently after its council funding was reduced by almost £700,000.
Members were sent an email which stated the closure was necessary to protect the “long-term interests” of the charity, with the pool requiring £400,000 of “unfeasible” machinery repairs.
Today, the campaigners’ message that they are not giving up hope was clear – and shared passionately in a speech from dedicated campaigner, Kirsty Fraser.
“It really should be the responsibility of our council to empower our communities,” she said.
“The disempowerment our community feels right now because our voices have been denied and we’re not being listened to is really worrying for democracy going forward in this city.
“The swimming pool is one of the things keeping our kids out of trouble, it’s giving them something to do. What have they got in this community now?”
Mrs Fraser’s eldest son visits the pool at least twice a week with friends or family, something he has done for most of his life.
This afternoon, he dived in for one final time.
“It’s going to be such a loss,” she said. “And, they’ve lost so much already. We’ve got heavy hearts today.
“But the community spirit is still here and we’re not letting them away with it easily.”
The group has now submitted an expression of interest for a community asset transfer of the building – with those in the community willing to run a pool urged to come forward.
“It’s one of the options we’re exploring,” she added.
‘This is our home’
The pool is a second home for the 77 members of the Bucksburn Amateur Swimming Club.
Club president, Mark Brown, said he was “devastated” that closing day had arrived, but was hopeful to see current and past members come together for a final group session.
Two long-term members of the swimming club, siblings Emily and Alexander Rogocz, train at the pool up to five times a week.
“This is the only swimming pool I knew for a long time,” Alexander, 16, said. “It’s very sad to see it close.”
“We will keep the club together,” Emily, 12, added. “We’re still going to be here. It may be the last swim here today, but not fur us.”
The siblings were joined by their mum, Ewa Rogocz, who turned up armed with a banner stating: “Save our pool. Save our lives”.
“This will break children’s hearts,” she said. “We will fight for it to be re-opened, we will not give up.
“No other pool is an option, this is our home.”
‘What will I do now?’
For Shelley Long, a lifelong Bucksburn resident, and her three-year-old twins, Ailsa and Callie, the pool is a lifeline.
“I’ve been coming here since it opened when I was 11,” she said. “I’d come here with my sisters and cousins. And, my mum was part of the community fundraising for it to open.
“It’s been here all throughout my life, it has always been this pool I’ve gone to. I’m now waiting for a liver transplant and swimming is the only exercise I can do. Hydro therapy is something I do in preparation of the transplant.
“I do not know what I will do now.”
Ailsa and Callie have been learning to swim at the Bucksburn pool and were excited to get back in the water today.
“This pool going is a big blow to our family,” she added.
A number of children who live in the area rely on the pool for swimming lessons, with many having been moved there when Hazlehead Pool shut its doors.
When the news about Bucksburn broke, Genevieve Wheeler-Melvin knew action had to be taken and decided to step up as a volunteer for the campaign group.
She said: “I moved here in 2011 and now live up the road, we were really excited to have a pool on our doorstep. I’ve taken my girls, Samantha and Abigail, here since they were born.
“We have thrown ourselves in to the research to try to figure out a solution that works for our community.”
Conversation