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Hayle swimming pool have topped the leader board and won a £12,500 grant

Hayle open air swimming pool

A SWIMMING pool in Hayle has fought off the competition and topped the leader board to win a £12,500 grant

The open air swimming pool located on King George V memorial walk, was shortlisted along with seven other projects in Cornwall to receive the M&S Energy Community Fund and came out on top

The £12,500 grant will be going towards providing heating for the open air pool, which was built in the 1970s by local people, and has been kept running by Hayle Town council and Friends of Hayle Swimming Pool for several years

The Mayor Graham Coad said: "I am very grateful to the M&S Energy fund for making this available but high praise has to go to the people of Hayle who, by word of mouth, email, and Facebook campaigns stimulated a fantastic response with many more votes for our bid than our competitors

"This is our brilliant Community really getting together and stuck in for the benefit of OUR Community Pool and people. My special thanks goes to the Friends of the Pool and the Town Clerk Ellie Giggal for her energy and commitment. This also reminds me of wonderful volunteers in Hayle who supported the Pool over many years, some of whom are no longer with us"

Simon Tytler, Chairman of Friends of Hayle Swimming Pool, said: "Friends of Hayle Swimming Pool are delighted that the pool has secured the funding from M&S Energy to get the pool heated

"It will make the pool more appealing to a wider group of people, and ensures that everyone has the opportunity of learning to swim in a safe, friendly and now warm environment - essential in a coastal town where the sea reaches in to the middle of town

"We are grateful to Hayle Town Council (the owners of the pool) for making the application and supporting it all the way to a happy conclusion"

Hayle Town Council are currently looking into when to start the development of the project now they have secured the grant and they are hoping to complete the project by the next summer season if all goes to plan

Ellie Giggal, Hayle Town Clerk, said: "I would like thank everyone involved from the Hayle Town Council office team, who completed and submitted the application form, Sebi Schmidt for his amazing video, the Councillors and Friends of Hayle Pool, who volunteered to promote the award at M&S Energy one Sunday, and everyone that took the time to vote and shared and promoted the opportunity. It truly was a combined effort"

Jonathan Hazeldine, Head of M&S Energy, said: "We were absolutely delighted with the number of entries we received for the M&S Energy Community Energy Fund and it was brilliant to see communities coming together in support of renewable energy projects in their area – we received over 51,000 votes in total

"We have a very worthy list of 26 winners from a whole range of projects which all exemplify the innovative approach communities across the UK are taking to generating their own energy"