Swim The Wight CIC has launched a brand new survey exploring whether or not Isle of Wight residents and visitors would be interested in a year-round sea pool at Yaverland.
The survey – which can be found at http://swimthewight.org.uk/seapool – asks whether people go in or on the sea and, if so, when, where and how. It also asks if there are any barriers to using the sea.
It comes as plans are drawn up for an open-air, sea-refreshed pool that will sit naturally within the sea defences and be part of the regeneration of Yaverland and Sandown. The sea pool will provide an accessible, safe and free-to-use resource year-round for all swimmers, bobbers, dippers, non-swimmers and water sport enthusiasts, encouraging and supporting ‘blue health’ for physical, mental and emotional health and wellbeing.
This new survey forms a key part of a Feasibility Study on the proposed salt water sea pool, which will be analysed in conjunction with Unlimited Island and Southampton University and fed into the study over the next few months. It will also make up part of the wider vision for The Bay area as part of the new Place Plan.
Cold water swimming has grown hugely in popularity over the past few years and is now regularly undertaken by millions of swimmers weekly, year-round. The benefits of cold-water swimming to mental and physical health are the subject of numerous current studies and are becoming better understood.
Sandown Bay is already a very popular swimming area for a large number of regular resident swimmers and visitors and Swim The Wight CIC believes that a sea pool will offer enthusiasts a longer season and more protected swims when the weather is rough as well as the opportunity for the less confident and able to swim and try it out safely, broadening the appeal greatly.
Victoria Thorneton-Field of Swim The Wight says:
“We love swimming in the sea around the island, year-round but there are times when the weather just makes it unsafe even for the very best swimmers.
“I meet so many people who say that they just don’t have the confidence to swim in the sea or who have accessibility challenges and just can’t access the beach or sea safely. An accessible naturally fed Sea Pool will resolve those issues and provide many more opportunities for Sandown Bay and the whole island”.
To access and complete the survey visit https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfNfpproJhOzZBV5IO3umQBx0CphOUlHQV2M3DO0lNIZrh2rQ/viewform.
If you physically can’t make it down the beach or the weather is too bad to swim in the sea then we have public swimming pools, use them or lose them.
Building this will just be another nail in the coffin for our hugely underfunded local sports centres.
And a waste of public money.
Not to mention more destruction of the shore line to build it destroying natural marine habitats which is a more important aspect of such a venture and totally pointless building a pool on the shore line to be fed by the sea when the sea is kinda right there swim in that
I can’t believe how narrow minded the very minority few can be
Very likely JUST be a ‘sprat to catch a Mackerel’ for ONCE building work is undertaken, then the rest of the development of the whole area won’t be far behind, and the ‘developers’ will NO doubt be tickled PINK at the lucrative ‘surprise contract’ given by the Council to them.
Watch over the next decade as see.
ALWAYS look any gift horse in the mouth IF it comes from the greedy hard pressed council, for they never do something without gaining more. Time will tell and show all the dim naive on here, but then of course, all too late.
In any such pool, micro poo particles will loosen from carelessly wiped bottoms, and will swill about in the warmer water, being ingested by children who will turn ill and have the runs adding to the dilute sewage.
This has all the signs of a plan to use this ‘public pool’ as a prelude to start a building plan along the entire coast.
This Council do nothing unless they make more out of it.
Ban it
Oh my Goodness the best beach on the Island and they want to build on it! this is so ludicrous I cannot believe it. If you are spending any money then spend it on something people can do when it is pouring with rain and the youngsters can use in winter so they can socialize safely and be active The sports Centre is now mostly a gym for fitness with no hall for gymnastics no indoor tennis courts and only 2 squash courts and the pool is too small with no diving boards! Even Freshwater has more than this, so please give the money to them and forget this ridiculous idea
I see the ill-informed are out in force.
A sea pool is just an extension of the sea defences that holds a pool of sea water behind it and is refreshed and refilled at high tide.
It uses no electricity, no chemicals and actually serves as a haven for many sea creatures.
Maybe learn what a sea pool is before venting your spleens?
Zonko, YOU are the foolish one, as you make it all sound so easy.
“The sea water refreshes and fills the pool at high tide”.
But the sea water will bring in with it tons of sand, silt (and dead seagulls), and that will soon fill the pool, being heavier that water and will require expensive maintenance all ‘added’ to OUR council tax for the benefit of a few.
“It uses no chemicals.” No, so will quickly fill with algae and slime and parents will be demanding such is cleared, again at great expense to the Council tax.
Add the fact that locals in the area are know to vandalise and destroy so this will be a magnet to smash bottles in etc, again as happens in Cowes, needing it closed and expensive cleaning all on our C. tax
Yaverland is currently the dog friendly beach year round, I do hope that this will continue if this facility is built.
I like the idea. It would encourage me to return to swimming in the sea like I did when I was younger. Safety, the knowlege that I’m not going to kick a rock when I put me feet down and a protected area of water are all encouraging features. I would hope that this plan would include for a fresh water rinse facility very nearby
Remember though that Sandown has a lot of HMO’s most if not all hold their fair share of deranged individuals who will break bottles into any such feature made for others enjoyment.
Add the lazy dog walkers throwing bags of digested Chum or Chappie into the pool along with louts half submerged beer cans and it should be seen as a costly folly which we will all fund on our c.tax for half a dozen users ONCE the novelty has worn off
I have changed my view and don’t want the liability on my wallet
A good idea on the face of it, but an artists impression of the proposal would be handy. The exact location and size may help people complete the survey, either for or against.
And of course YOU Mr Rowe are an artist, who has worked for the Council before doing graphic style plans and maps, most lucrative so you have a vested interest but at least you are local and love the Island and a nice person.
Don’t forget IF you get the contract to add true modern day reality, of half submerged fish and chip boxes, beer cans and discarded dog bags like black Octopi and with equally deadly brown ink content seeping out for children to thrash around in.
Great idea, many of these type of pools have been in many seaside resorts in
Kent for years.
Bring it on and ban Dogs from the beach.
Too many idiots let their dogs run around Yaverland Car Park
very dangerous with all the motors and children.
Dogs should be kept on their leads, too be honest so should some of their owners.
The dog owners, like the ones in Ryde who ignore the rules banning dogs from the beach, just regard the beaches as their personal dog toilets, they allow their dogs to foul the beach with no regard to the children and adults who will use the beach.
So it is considered a good idea to build a “seawater refreshed” pool close to the live sewage outfall at Yaverland.