Newsletter November 2021 -

Welcome to our November newsletter

We have been so lucky this year with the September and October weather, after such a wet August. Having started the season late in July due to the restrictions, it was a bonus to be able to keep the pool open through the sunny days of September. The lifeguard team finished at the beginning of that month, but the pool was fully accessible until the beginning of October. That achieved one of our strategy aims of keeping the pool open for a longer season, and it was great to see the pool being fully used and enjoyed. We continued our fortnightly pool cleans in September and are now down to our winter cleaning schedule of once a month. Roy our caretaker will be continuing in November with the Winter decommissioning of the pool. Our beach huts have now been moved to their winter positions to protect them from storm damage.

September started with our Twilight Swim, which was a beautiful way to end to the day for those swimmers who came to join us for an early evening dip. With hot soup, hot drinks and cake on sale the event was very well supported.

We then had the usual four-pawed fun and frolics at the Dog Swim in mid-October. It was a great day for dogs and owners, and also just a fun uplifting event for those who came to watch. You couldn’t help smiling at the antics of dogs and owners! This very popular event will be held again in the spring.

Thank you for everyone who comes out to support us at these events, especially our fundraising volunteers. We couldn’t do it without you.

Looking forward, we have a busy calendar ahead, so do add these dates to your diary:

End of Year Swim 31 January 2021

11.30am – a morning swim to see out the old year

Brixham Yacht Club Quiz Night 16 February 2022

A night to tease the brain, win prizes in table teams and try your luck with a very special raffle at the Yacht Club.

Fish and Chip Supper March 2022

With live music, auction, raffle and great views across the harbour, come and dine with us at Rockfish, one of Brixham’s best loved restaurants.

After a successful start this year with our merchandise sales, we have recently extended the colour range of our t-shirts and hoodies on our online shop, do go and have a look Shoalstone Seawater Pool (teemill.com). We will also be selling items to raise funds at the Winter Table Top sale on the 20th November in the Scala Hall. I think it is time for a few Shoalstone Christmas pressies!

We’re always keen to hear from you on any matter concerning the pool be it fundraising ideas, offers for help or anything that we may not have thought of. Please feel free to get in touch via our email address info@shoalstonepool.com or phone 01803 302024.

To give you a fuller update, we are once again holding our Annual Meeting at the Berry Head Hotel. Do come along to hear more on how things are going at the pool and to have your say. We will be presenting our yearly report, accounts and generally be discussing the way forward, so our aims for next year and for future years. We look forward to seeing you all there.

Following on from the essential works at the start of 2021 we are again facing a large set of repairs to be able to open next year in 2022. We need to continue with the repairs to the pool tank, addressing the crack systems and hollow voiding that are appearing in the walls and base. We are hoping to prepare and seal the pool walls to allow painting of the interior of the pool, and are investigating the best way this can be done so that the paint adheres to the concrete. We need to then continue with the survey work to look for a longer-term solution to the faults in the north deck area and sea wall. In total as a rough estimate we believe we are looking at a cost of around £50K.

CCTV

We have been successful in our application for a grant from the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner which, together with the funds raised earlier in the year, will go towards the cost of installing a CCTV system. We will be looking to have this installed before the start of next season.

We pleased to let you know that we have been successful in our application to the Charities Commission to become a Charitable Incorporated Organisation. This is a major step forward, but we still have a lot of work to do behind the scenes to set up the new organisation, working with Brixham Town Council and Torbay Council. We will keep you posted.

Contact Us

Shoalstone Pool, Berry Head Road, Brixham,TQ5 9FT

Further Information

We are always keen to hear your views and feedback. If you have something to tell us please do get in touch. New Volunteers are always welcome. We’re busy maintaining and improving the pool all year round.