A UNIQUE plan to heat Petersfield's open-air swimming pool with solar panels was roundly praised this week – but doubts remain about how it will be funded. Organisers were bidding for £15,000 from East Hampshire District Council on Tuesday night as they look to amass £184,000 to complete the project by the end of the financial year. And although members of EHDC's central area community forum were positive about the proposal to provide year-round swimming, there were question marks over how it would be financed. Judy Onslow told her colleagues: "I think this is incredibly exciting. I fully support this and I would like to see it get off the ground. But Elizabeth Cartwright sounded a note of caution, pointing to the large amount of money needed to build the panels on the roof of the Festival Hall. She said: "I am quite concerned that you have got quite a long way to go with the funding." Earlier in the meeting, Petersfield's open-air swimming pool member, Vaughan Clarke, had told the forum how an application for funds from the National Lottery had been unsuccessful as the area was not seen as "deprived". A number of other applications had also failed to deliver. But major funding is expected to come from the Low Carbon Buildings Trust in the form of a £100,000 grant. A bid has also been lodged for £25,000 from the Powergen Green Plan, while individual sponsors are set to account for a further £30,000. Petersfield Town Council and the swimming pooI trust have already given £3,500 each towards the scheme. Members referred the £15,000 community initiative fund application to their cabinet colleagues for a final decision.
