A community group which runs a Blackburn swimming pool has responded after a council closed the centre this week over ‘health and safety’ concerns.

HALF Fish said it has followed all the procedures put in place by Blackburn with Darwen Council in operating Daisyfield Pool.

It also claimed £71,000 would be needed to bring the building back into use, and a further £3 million refurbishment would be needed to be spent on the historic building to make it fit for purpose.

The sudden closure, on August 18, has led to an outcry from users across the borough, and the centre said 1,700 people have signed a petition and numerous letters of support have been forwarded to HALF Fish.

The council said two discoveries of legionella bacteria were found in hot and cold water supplies in the building, and were made by an independent laboratory commissioned to test for it in all Blackburn with Darwen Council-owned swimming pools.

The council said earlier this week the decision to close the centre was 'not a popular decision' but made in the interests of pool users and staff.

HALF Fish, an independent swimming organisation, took over the day-to-day running of the facility under an asset transfer arrangement in 2016, and runs almost 40 sessions per week in the large and small pools.

In a statement to the Lancashire Telegraph, HALF Fish, which is run as a Community Interest Company, said: “Once the legionella result was given to us, we followed the directives given to us by the council, completing the necessary remedial works.

"The council then as we know closed the building as a temporary measure on August 18.

“As we know from the news, legionella was also discovered on the migrant’s barge in Poole harbour and this was dealt with in the same way as we have dealt with the outbreak at Daisyfield Pools.”

Earlier this month the Government attempted to move a number of people who arrived seeking refuge in the UK in small boats onto the Bibby Stockholm migrant barge, but had to be evacuated days later after legionella was found on the boat.

The bacteria causes Legionnaire's disease, a severe form of pnuemonia.

HALF Fish said on July 19 and 20, council plumbers attended site and "removed pipework and dead-legs from the system and this followed a treatment which was to flush through the water system with sodium hypochlorite – this was completed by July 21".  

Its statement said: “The report we have been given by the council dated August 15 from TECs (Testing company) following the flush indicates there were no samples of legionella found in the building.”

HALF Fish said it has asked Martin Eden, the Council’s strategic director of environment and operations, to have this confirmed, which "shows a successful treatment and the possible lifting of the temporary closure if allowed".

The statement said: “Through our time at the pool, we have completed routine flushing of the water system, documenting the checks as recommended in our operating procedures.

"There have been no earlier legionella outbreaks indicated by the council, which shows we have run a safe building in the time we have operated HALF Fish HQ at Daisyfield Pools. 

“Our pool plant operations have been carried out by qualified staff and we have taken on board the points noted in the plant report and are working on these. 

“All our microbiological tests on the pool water quality carried out by an independent lab as required by PWTAG (Pool Water Treatment Advisory Group) guidelines have come back to show we have quality water for all of our swimmers to swim in.

“The conditions survey we have seen briefly yesterday about the 118-year-old building has highlighted 20 major structural concerns, which indicate severe defects.

"There are nine amber concerns which indicate works that need to be considered as they are in poor repair or need replacements.”  

The organisation said a report, which it had brief sight of before it is shared with councillors, indicates that £71,000 would be needed to bring the pool plant alone back to a serviceable condition, and £3m upwards as a starting figure for the refurbishment of the whole building.

HALF Fish said it is looking to secure funding and added: “The building was updated in 1991 and the council since 2016 have spent £137,000 on repairs and general maintenance on Daisyfield Pools, and we were told £23 million on leisure in the borough as a whole since 2010.

“We have asked for clarity as to what steps will be taken next. 

“This week our community has pulled together, the Rookie Lifesaving camp we had booked in has taken place in our local church hall, and we have done lots of rookie skills, including going swimming to another pool on Wednesday, and on Friday, we went open water swimming with our swimmers and parents. 

“Thursday, we trained six new Junior Green Shirts, as young leaders, who will work with our programme when we return.  

“Our parents are backing us, as can be seen with the petition they have begun, which now has more than 1,700 signatures; we have numerous letters of support, from swimmers, parents and schools about our award winning programme and delivery.”

Senior councillors will be presented with the findings of the review and recommendations for next steps for the pools at a meeting of Blackburn with Darwen Council’s executive board meeting on Thursday, September 7.