Calls grow for indoor pool in Belmullet as Erris residents face 75km trip to nearest facility
Local representatives have asked Mayo County Council to consider an application for funding for an indoor swimming pool in the Belmullet area, as some residents currently have to commute over 75km to access a pool.
The request came from councillors in the Westport and Belmullet Municipal District following a public meeting hosted by Mayo County Council and Mayo Sports Partnership at the start of the month.
At the meeting, residents from the Belmullet area called for an indoor swimming pool to be made available closer to home, raising concerns about the fairness of access to sports and recreational facilities in Mayo.
The pool at the Broadhaven Bay Hotel in Belmullet closed in 2019 due to financial issues, and the hotel is currently exploring options to reopen it.
This situation has left children in the Erris region facing a two-hour round trip for swimming lessons, wheelchair users losing access to aqua therapy, and older residents with fewer ways to stay active.
The lack of a nearby facility has left the community without a convenient, year-round option for swimming, exercise, or rehabilitation.
Cllr Sean Carey raised the issue at the November meeting of the Westport and Belmullet Municipal District.
He said he attended the public meeting on the regional sports plan, which had a large turnout, and that the main concern for the local community was the "ongoing problem of the lack of an indoor swimming pool for the Belmullet area."
"There were a lot of concerns raised, and their concerns are justified," he added.
"There are currently 11 swimming pools, both private and public, in County Mayo, and they are located in the east and the south of the county,
"If you live in Blacksod, you will travel 75km before you get to a swimming pool. If you were to travel from Westport or Castlebar, you would have the choice of 11 pools in that 75km radius," he said.
Cllr Carey highlighted that 12,000 people in Erris currently have no access to an indoor swimming pool, and that having a local facility would bring significant benefits to the community.
"What can we do? It is affecting people's health and their mental health. There is a lack of amenities that are needed for the area,
"At the meeting, there were many elderly people and residents who would be able to avail of it - and the schoolchildren, when they go for lessons, have to travel to Westport, Mulranny, Castlebar, or Ballina", he said and added that by the time they have travelled to and from their lessons after school, the day is practically gone.
He asked the council to consider an application to the Community Sports Fund for an indoor pool in the Belmullet area.
Cllr Gerry Coyle supported his colleague, noting that while residents of Westport are within a 30km radius of all 11 pools, people in Blacksod are over 75km from their nearest facility.
"The new funding scheme is open again next year, and we have to be on it to get an indoor heated swimming pool for Belmullet," Cllr Coyle said.
"We have a wonderful outdoor pool, it is fantastic, but it is nearly impossible to teach children to swim in that pool in the depths of winter down here,
"The outdoor pool is a great and wonderful asset to the area, but we have to have a heated indoor swimming pool put together in the Erris area in the not-too-distant future," he added.
This article has been funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.