Shere Swimming Pool Club

Point Raised

Our Response

Some members expressed a desire for longer bookable swimming slots for part of the day

Unfortunately this is unlikely to be a viable option. The constraints of our booking system make it difficult and there is a concern that a longer swim slot would limit the number of members that could use the pool on any given day. If some members might want 45 minutes and others an hour it could get very complicated to schedule. However, assuming there are slots available on the day, there is nothing to stop a member from making an additional standby booking for an adjacent slot.   Also, there won't be the same time constraints for the periods allocated to "open swimming".

Can we extend the season to open earlier in the year and close later? / Is it possible to keep the pool open all year for wild swimming? The temperature can be much lower, at a level needed for maintenance of the pool.

We recently extended the season to run from April to October. We are grateful to our army of volunteers who work hard to keep the pool open for the 7 month season. Balancing heating costs and the time and effort of our volunteers against the likely level of usage means that at the moment we feel the season is as long as practically possible.

Would love to see some landscaping (less Barbed wire) and some better facilities for onlookers to wait i.e. better/more comfortable seats?

In the future, once the changing room refurbishment is complete, the seating may be something we can review. I'm afraid the barbed wire is required to deter anyone form trying to entre outside of opening times. Local residents did a wonderful job of improving the border in front of the main fence of the pool in 2021 and if there are volunteers who want to take on the inside of the pool then please let us know.

I would like to see the pool used for local membership only. Throughout this season, I have found myself talking to people from Guildford, Dorking and further afield knowing that there are plenty of locals who didn't manage to get membership this year

The renewal process means that all local residents have priority booking form 1st January.   Therefore there should be no reason why a local resident is not able to obtain membership. We do acknowledge that there was an issue in 2021 where some local members were not aware of the change to renewal dates due to the extension of the swimming season. We apologise for this but believe we have now publicised this change and so the issue shouldn't reoccur,

The option to book another slot if it’s a quiet day with empty lanes! The pool is such a blessing thank you so much for all of your hard work!

This facility was launched for the 2021 season and will be continued in 2022. Standby bookings allow a free lane to be booked on the day, regardless of whether you already have a lane booked. To book a standby booking go to Book a Swim and select the Standby Swim option.

I would also like to suggest a review of the child to adult ratios, I have 3 small children & if we want to use the pool I currently am unable to bring all 3 of them by myself under your current rules.

The following new supervision ratios, which have now been adopted by SSPC, are based on the recommendations as specified by CIMPSA (Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity) and   should be adhered to at all times:
Children under 8 years - a maximum of 3 children to 1 adult (the adult must accompany the children in the water)
Children over 8 years and under 16 years - a maximum of 6 children to 1 adult (the adult must remain within the pool compound and be able to see the children in their care at all times).
Any children under 16 years who cannot swim one width must be accompanied in the water by a known adult.

I was thinking we could have a community notice board up where people could leave flyers for village events (like you might have at a newsagents)?

This is a possibility and can be considered once we have the new booking-in office completed.

A little concerned by the very tall trees at the end of the pool. Might be an idea to request they be topped for safety reasons given what happened the other end.

Good but greater communication ('re temporary closures etc) is needed / It would be useful if the trustees were able to notify members by text or email of pool closures.

The pool had to be closed at short notice twice last season. Once due to a tree incident and once due to the water quality of the pool. In this circumstances an update will be put on the pool website ASAP.

One member queried if it was a COVID requirement to have the surnames and times of swimming accessible on the website.

This is not a Covid requirement. The details were actually available (but not publicised) the when the booking system was introduced to allow membership checks to be carried out by the Committee.
When it became apparent that a few members had inadvertently turned up on the wrong day (or time) or use the wrong lane for their swim, it was felt that making this information more visible would enable members to clear up any issues quickly and easily at the time. (It may also have been used by members to meet at the pool and either share a lane or make a booking for another lane.)
As it was fairly straightforward, the facility to have alternative details displayed has been incorporated into the booking form for this year.

I was a little bit dismayed to discover on several occasions this summer people commenting on how lucky we were to have the pool and how great it was that the Bray family had given it to the village. I would love it if the plaque commemorating the donation by Lady Arthur Russell could be more prominent or acknowledged, particularly as the Russell family still live in Shere.

You are correct, the pool was donated to the village by Lady Russell, rather than the Bray family, as highlighted on the plaque. This stone memorial will remain in place within the layout of the new changing rooms and surrounds, and will actually now be more prominent as the entrance gate is being moved to the left, nearer to it. This is all recorded as part of the pool history. We will consider whether a summary of the history might also be displayed in the booking-in office.    

Summer BBQ get together. I'd like to meet some of the faces I see bobbing about & say 'hello'.

This is a great idea and we will look a this as a possibility for 2022. If you would be willing to volunteer to organise such an event please let us know.

There are a lot of notices up around the pool, and almost all of them are telling us what NOT to do. It would be nice if at least some where more positive! Or at least more friendly: "please do not play ball games, dive bomb..."

An area where dogs can be safely secured would be much appreciated and would avoid doubling up on travel time/fuel for swims and dog walks.

Dogs can already be tied to one of the bike stands outside the pool while members are swimming.

There were also times during the season where the pool was uncomfortably cold for young children to play in at the weekend.

We do aim to keep the pool at a consistent temperature throughout the swimming season, however this can sometimes be a challenge based on the ambient air temperature or how our plant equipment is operating