PRINCE Charles was joined by an Olympic swimmer as he opened a refurbished open-air pool which was saved from demolition.
The swimming pool in New Cumnock, East Ayrshire, has undergone significant refurbishment following funding from the Dumfries House Outreach Programme and is more energy efficient.
It was saved from demolition by the community-run group Afton Water Leisure.
Built in 1966, the pool is one of the few heated clean water open-air pools in Scotland.
The new-look pool, designed in a “lido” style, has been made more energy efficient and given a significant facelift through a construction project which started in September 2016 and was finished this month.
The Prince, who is known as the Duke of Rothesay in Scotland, was joined by Rio 2016 double silver-medallist Duncan Scott and local children as he opened the facility on Wednesday.
Since Dumfries House in Ayrshire was saved for the nation in 2007 by a consortium led by the Duke of Rothesay, it has provided “heritage-led regeneration” for the local community.
Through the Dumfries House Outreach Programme, the charity has led and been involved in a number of projects including the rejuvenation of New Cumnock Town Hall.
The pool is 25 metres long and, for increased efficiency, the depth was reduced from 2.9m to 1.5m in the deep end and from 1.1m to 0.8m in the shallow end.
A statement from Dumfries House on its Facebook social media page read: “Not long now until the New Cumnock Pool reopens. The Dumfries House Trust raised £30,000 for an impressive restoration and we can’t wait to share the results with you on June 14.
“The pool will benefit from new buildings, including sparkling changing and shower facilities.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here