A WEST Bromwich hotel is hoping to make up for the town’s sad lack of pool facilities by offering children a free swim during the school holidays.
InnAction, the leisure centre at the Park Inn Hotel, Birmingham West, in Birmingham Road, is inviting parents to take their youngsters along during half-term, and in line with the Government’s free swimming initiative – there will be no charge for under-16s.
The town has been without a public swimming pool since 2000, when the Gala Baths were demolished because of structural problems, which has left youngsters having to travel much further afield for a swim.
Damien Hunter, manager of the InnAction leisure club, which has its own heated, indoor pool, said he hopes the offer of free swimming sessions will give parents a welcome chance to let their youngsters have some fun in the water.
“As well as being great fun, swimming is fantastic all-round exercise for people of all ages, and it is essential for children to get confidence in the water from a young age,” he said.
“Unfortunately, the chances for youngsters in this area to go swimming are severely limited, which is why we have decided to offer our facilities, which are normally only available to leisure club members.
“The Government initiative is aimed at local authorities, running public swimming pools, but given the lack of facilities in West Bromwich, we have chosen to bear the expense ourselves,” he said.
Mr Hunter added that a member of the poolside team is currently preparing to train as a swimming instructor.
“Once he has completed the course, he will be fully qualified to teach swimming lessons, and we hope this will be something else we can offer local residents in West Bromwich, which is not currently available.”
Adrian Pickard, general manager at the Park Inn Hotel Birmingham West, said the sessions will be run from 1pm to 3pm from Monday, May 31 to Friday, June 4, during the half-term holiday, and are free to under-16s, with a £3 charge for the adults accompanying them.
Each child will be able to swim up to an hour, to make sure everyone gets a chance, as there will be a limit on how many people can go in the pool at any one time.
“The pool is well-monitored, with two qualified pool attendants on duty during these hours, and CCTV coverage to ensure safety, but we ask that an adult accompanies all under-16s into the pool, in order to supervise them – though they will be able to bring up to two children each,” he added.
The hotel has extensive free car-parking available. For more details, visit the website www.westbromwich.parkinn.co.uk or to book a swim, please ring the leisure club on 0121 609 9901.
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