Council permanently closes hydrotherapy pool

A hydrotherapy pool is to remain closed after councillors were unable to reach an agreement on its "viability, risk and deliverability".

Cornwall Council said it had allowed time for a "community-led solution" to be found to support the reopening of the pool at St Austell Leisure Centre, following a motion to full council in August 2025.

The facility at Polkyth Leisure Centre closed during the Covid pandemic in 2020 and has never reopened "despite efforts over the past nine months", the authority said.

It said it was grateful to the community-led Friends of Community Hydrotherapy Group (FCHG) for the "commitment" it had shown trying to to find a solution.

FCHG said it would continue to fight for publicly accessible hydrotherapy in Cornwall.

Cornwall Council said it acknowledged the benefits of hydrotherapy and working with Greenwich Leisure Limited, which operates St Austell Leisure Centre, it remained "committed to delivering leisure facilities that bring wider community health benefits".

It said it was also committed to "improving accessibility to leisure facilities at St Austell, including physical access to the swimming pool".

FCHG said it has been "pressing for the hydrotherapy pool... to be reopened as there is limited public access to hydrotherapy in Cornwall, with some people having to travel outside of the county to use facilities".

It said last year a survey was undertaken by the group which found that "hundreds of people supported the reopening of the pool".

It added: "Cornwall Council has now said that it wanted a full business case, governance model, details on how the facility would be run and full details of funding.

"We provided information which we felt showed that there was significant demand for the pool, that sufficient revenue could be provided and gave details of funding that we would seek to access should the council support the reopening of the pool."

It said it thought it was unrealistic for the council to expect the "small group" to complete work which would "usually cost thousands of pounds and involve outside consultants."

It said they were unable to provide sources of funding as there was no certainty that the project would be supported and they felt it was their view Cornwall Council and GLL have let down the community.

Councillor Julian German, who has been supporting the group, said: "We were grateful to the council for considering our campaign to reopen the pool but are disappointed that they have taken this decision to withdraw their support.

"The personal stories that I have heard from people who have lost this facility have been heartbreaking and I urge the council to reconsider and work alongside us to see if we can get this precious and much-loved facility opened once more."

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