ALMOST 600 angry people have signed a petition to save the Health Hydro after the decision was made on Friday to close it for good.

The smaller pool, often used by people learning to swim, has been closed since January but after the announcement that it would remain shut permanently protesters have asked the operators of the pool to reverse their decision.

Greenwich Leisure Limited (GLL), which runs the facility under its Better brand, says the cost and disruption mean they will not be fixing the leak which developed.

However, this has prompted anger from hundreds of users who say the historic pool, which opened in 1891 and is one of the country’s oldest, is a vital asset to Swindon.

The petition has been set up by John Coe, who says the pool has helped hundreds of people learn to swim and gain confidence in the water.

The petition reads: “The small pool at the Health Hydro, with its size, depth and length remains the best teaching pool in Swindon.

“It is used by schools, lessons, swimming clubs, adult swim clinics, parent and toddler, etc. Thousands, myself included, learned to swim there.

“There is not the capacity or the equivalent facilities in Swindon to undertake all of the activities that once took place here.”

John goes onto say he wants GLL, which took over all of the town’s leisure facilities from Swindon Borough Council in 2014, to reverse its decision and repair the popular pool so it can re-open.

“I and my family, along with many others, are regular swimmers at the Health Hydro,” reads the petition .

“These pools should be maintained and kept open not primarily because of history. Situated at the heart of Swindon the Health Hydro provides unique facilities that are not available anywhere else in the area.

“GLL should show their stated commitment to the centre and complete the work.”

The company says it regrets the decision to close the secondary pool but having examined the situation, it is not possible to re-open it.

A spokesman said: “We have spent the past three months extensively investigating ways in which to remedy these problems, which have included issues such as age, pipework, access and asbestos.

“Sadly, we have concluded that not only would the work be extremely complex to undertake, affecting other areas of the Health Hydro, but costs to bring the pool up to standard are prohibitive.

“It is with great reluctance that we have made the decision to decommission the small pool.

“We have reconfigured the main pool to accommodate the bulk of the small pool’s programme and are also working to synchronise the Hydro’s pool timetable with other Better centres within Swindon, to ensure there are maximum opportunities to swim for local residents.”

The petition can be found at:you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/re-open-the-small-pool-at-health-hydro-swindon