Hampton Pool reopening party on 22 June 1985

Latest news

Chair’s update May 2025

Andrew Gill

15 May 2025

Life Begins at Forty!

A milestone and fresh chapter in the life of Hampton Pool!

Forty years ago in the summer of 1985, Hampton Pool reopened as a community-run pool following the campaign by local people to save their much-loved outdoor swimming pool from certain closure. This summer we mark the 40th anniversary of the reopening which followed a huge community effort. I am delighted that this issue includes reminiscences about that first season.

With fortuitous timing this important anniversary in the 103 year history of Hampton Pool coincides with another turn of the page. We say goodbye to our pool operator of 17 years, YMCA St Paul’s Group and welcome South Downs Leisure as our new operator who take up the reins from 1 June. I would like to thank the YMCA for their amazing support over many years.

The period of YMCA operation has seen significant growth in the popularity of outdoor swimming, resulting in steady increase in the number of pool users. As Hampton Pool operator, YMCA also supported the development of other areas of the business, including the programme of swimming lessons and the dry side offer with a varied offer of exercise classes. YMCA worked alongside Hampton Pool Trust to achieve planning permission and to reach the start of development of the elderly Hampton Pool building. The first enabling stage of construction is now close to completion with further details in this issue.

Regular visitors to the pool will continue to see familiar faces when they come to swim and exercise as the existing Hampton Pool Team transfer across to SDL. We hope to make the transition as smooth as possible for staff and customers. We anticipate providing a more formal opportunity to meet the new team and celebrate our wonderful pool a little later in the year, once the current handover has taken place. I look forward to introducing our new operator to you in the coming weeks and months, starting with a few words of introduction from South Downs Leisure see page 2 of Summer 2025 Poolside Chat here.

@swimthenight reproduced with permission

Latest news

Chair’s update December 2024

Andrew Gill

1 December 2024

It’s a Marathon not a Sprint!

Latest news about a new operator for Hampton Pool and a successful grant application for the building project! We’ve a way to go to secure the full funding but with your help we can get there!

Following a procurement process which started in May, we are delighted to have found a suitable partner as our new pool operator. We are currently negotiating the contract so more news soon. Our thanks to YMCA St Paul’s Group who have operated Hampton Pool for 17 years. Our new partner, also a charity will take on the contract from June 2025.

Our priority is to achieve a smooth transfer of the team based at the pool and to ensure that pool use is not disrupted during handover. We are delighted to be working with a partner ready and willing to support the ethos of the pool, with objectives aligned with our own: supporting use by all, extending impact on community health and wellbeing, and implementing measures for environmental sustainability.

Meanwhile we are clearing the final hurdles to commence building work and we were delighted to receive news that we have been awarded a £150,000 grant by the Garfield Weston Foundation to support construction. We need your help to close the funding gap for the first stage of building work so please do help if you are able to, whether by making a donation or supporting our fundraising in other ways.

At a time when health and social care is facing a crisis and a national conversation has started about the future of the NHS, Hampton Pool’s support for health and wellbeing is a central part of our strategy. Our focus is on preventing common health conditions and supporting recovery and rehabilitation.

The development of our building to be fit for the future will allow us to make our 1960s building accessible, improve energy efficiency and upgrade the building for all our pool users. It will allow us to extend the support and activities on offer to help local people stay active, happy and healthy for decades to come.

Hampton Pool Trust is recruiting

Fundraising and Outreach Trustee/Director (voluntary role)

We are looking for a Trustee to join Hampton Pool Trust at an exciting time in our history. The role will bring strategic leadership to the fundraising and outreach activities of the Trust as we embark on the first phase of redevelopment of the Hampton Pool building.

As Fundraising and Outreach Director, you will play an important part in securing the future of Hampton Pool for generations to come. Working with a Fundraising and Outreach Committee and reporting to HPT Board, the role will bring leadership to secure the financial resources needed to continue the building project after the initial phase, steering a broad programme of fundraising and outreach activity with the local community. The Hampton Pool Annual Summer Picnic Concerts, our most significant annual fundraising series of events is run by a well established team and this Concerts team reports progress to the Fundraising and Outreach Committee.

The Trust is run on a voluntary basis with the vision to secure the future of the pool for the health and wellbeing of the local community. You will join the Board, Chair the Fundraising and Outreach Committee and liaise closely with the pool operator and construction team to support effective communication during the redevelopment.

The Board and Committee include Trustees and members with relevant specialist skills and a freelance grant writer has been recruited to support grant applications. The person appointed will also be able to call upon the help of Trust volunteers who assist with fundraising events during the year.

Who we are looking for

The successful candidate will be enthusiastic, tenacious, and inclusive. You will have strategic experience in fundraising, bringing your expertise to support our approaches to potential funders, grant giving organisations and the community.

You will have the excellent communication skills needed to explain the work of the Trust to funders and high net worth individuals, adopting appropriate communication channels and style as required. Ideally you will have an understanding of the contribution made to health and wellbeing by swimming and exercise.

Experience of capital fundraising would also be desirable but is not a prerequisite.

Term - Appointments to the Board are usually for a three-year term.

Time commitment - Typically a day per week with some flexibility required. Board meetings are held on weekday evenings (c.8 per year). Event planning and fundraising activities will involve attendance at meetings and events (responsibility for specific events is distributed between committee members)

How to get involved

For further information please drop us an email at secretary@hamptonpooltrust.org.uk.

Members receive regular updates by email from the Trust Board

If you are a member of Hampton Pool Trust and not recieving these updates, it might be because your email address is out-of-date. If you think this might be the case, please send your new address to the secretary here.

Aerial photo of pool by Dan Charity

Latest news

Chair’s update May 2024

Andrew Gill

29 May 2024

It’s Ready Steady Go! We’re on countdown to the start of building work!

I am delighted to bring you this update since becoming Chair of Hampton Pool Trust, the charity responsible for Hampton Pool.

The clock is ticking and this latest issue includes an update on progress towards the development of our swimming pool building, with construction expected to start this autumn. We’ve had some good news on grants recently, but we have a way to go to find the full funding needed for the scheme. So, we continue to seek your support.

This issue includes some wonderful recent coverage of Hampton Pool in the media, giving a delightful insight into the communities using Hampton Pool. Our profile this month is an interview with George Turner, one of our Level 1 Swim Teachers about the joys of teaching swimming!

To start on a personal note, I hope you will get to know me over the next few years, but a bit of background for now. I have lived in southwest London most of my life and in Whitton for 28 years. I work part-time for an international development charity based in Teddington.

I’m an experienced charity trustee and Chair, with previous involvement in overseeing capital projects. My background in parks and horticulture (I have worked in the Royal Parks) led me into facilities and charity management and I was for two and a half years seconded to the role of Chief Executive at Alexandra Palace & Park Charitable Trust where I overhauled the governance of the charity, preparing Ally Pally for a massive regeneration project.

I am excited to bring my skills and experience to bear as we embark on the first phase of our major development of Hampton Pool – my vision is to see us complete all the phases of work before my term of office ends!

Community Leisure UK

Hampton Pool Trust is now a member of Community Leisure UK, the members’ association that represents charities and social enterprises delivering public leisure and culture services across England, Scotland and Wales. We look forward to working with other members of the group to promote our work as a Trust, to share best practice, and to respond to the challenges currently facing the sector.