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Published: 20 July 2022
Exeter’s Lead Councillor for Leisure Services has appealed directly to the community to help find more lifeguards for the city’s swimming pools.
Northbrook Pool, a popular community facility in Beacon Lane, is having to reduce opening hours during the summer because of a lack of available lifeguards.
Cllr Josie Parkhouse appealed for trained lifeguards, or anyone who wants to train as a lifeguard, to come forward urgently.
She said: “Northbrook Pool is an amazing community pool in Beacon Heath that is well loved by the community, but unfortunately we’re in the middle of a national shortage of lifeguards and that has a knock on effect on us.
“A lot of our lifeguards are university students who’ve gone home for the summer. It means we will struggle over the summer, and I just urge people if they know someone who is qualified as a lifeguard - or we can even get them qualified - just come and have a chat with us at the Council and help us keep this amazing community pool open as much as we can over the summer.”
She said the pool was a much-loved asset for the local community.
Cllr Parkhouse said: “We're not talking about closing permanently or even closing seven days a week during summer. What we’re talking about is having to reduce the hours slightly over the summer because of the lifeguard shortage.
“It’s not something we want to do – it’s something we hate doing because we want to keep this pool open as much as possible. But like other councils across the country we are struggling to recruit lifeguards.
“So if anyone can help us with this we just encourage them to come forward. It’s a community pool so it would be great to have the community come together and help us keep the pool open as much as we can over the summer.”
For the latest on Northbrook Pool’s opening hours and the current timetable visit the Exeter Leisure website
More information on becoming a lifeguard email Charlotte.Tregedeon@exeter.gov.uk.
Exeter Leisure has a number of vacancies across the city’s leisure sites, including the new St Sidwell’s Point.
To see our current vacancies in leisure and other roles within the Council visit www.exeter.gov.uk/jobs