Fakenham groups demand answer on swimming pool funding

Fakenham is still waiting for news on whether the Labour government will fulfil its predecessor's £9.8m promise of funding towards the development of a pool and a 3G pitch at the Trap Lane Leisure Centre. 

On October 3, a group of organisations from the town and cross-party North Norfolk District Councillors whose wards are in or near Fakenham, wrote an open letter to Angela Rayner, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, urging her to sign off funding for the project.

They said: "The pool is a much-needed resource for the health and recreation of young and old alike which would benefit not only Fakenham town residents but also those in the surrounding rural villages who depend on Fakenham as their local hub."

READ MORE: MP confirms £9.9m spend on new Fakenham swimming pool

A decision on whether funding will be released to help build a new swimming pool in Fakenham could be made in the coming months (Image: Google Maps)

Earlier this month a spokesman for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said the Chancellor Rachel Reeves will confirm funding plans for this year and next at the budget on October 30.

The swimming pool would serve 25,000 people in Fakenham and the surrounding areas, including those who will move into the 950 homes expected to be built at a nearby site.

Liz Vickers, North Norfolk District Councillor for Fakenham Lancaster South. (Image: North Norfolk District Council) Signatories to the letter were Councillors Liz Vickers, Jeremy Punchard, Mike Hankins and Tom Fitzpatrick, as well as Fakenham Academy, Fakenham Infants and Junior School and the groups First Focus and Active Fakenham.

They said: "Our heartfelt plea to the current Secretary of State, the Rt Honourable Angela Rayner MP, Deputy Prime Minister of the UK, is to release funds so that building of the swimming pool can proceed."