WORK finally began retiling Petersfield's open-air swimming pool on Monday, with pool management hoping to see the first stage of the project completed in time for the summer season. But bosses warned that this year even more fundraising would be needed in order to complete the work. The work will be carried out in two phases. The initial phase will be the retiling of the floor of the shallow end and will be completed in time for the seasonal re-opening of the pool on Saturday, April 26. The second phase, to complete the retiling, will be carried out in the autumn as soon as the pool closes for the season. So far, sufficient grants to complete the whole project have not materialised and with limited time before the start of the new season, the decision was made to carry out the work in two phases. This means that the money raised from a buy-a-tile campaign last year will pay for the initial phase and substantial fundraising will have to be done this season to ensure that the second phase can go ahead in the autumn. Acting chairman of the open-air pool Rodney Clark said: "It is absolutely critical that work begins now. There's quite a lot of work to be done before our summer season begins in April. The biggest issue was getting the timing right, and we had to allow for contingency in case of bad weather." Unfortunately, for pool management, the bad weather throughout much of June, July and August last year hit the pool income badly. It was the worst year for 10 years, with the lowest number of swimmers and the lowest income from turnstile tickets. Pool spokesman Liz Bisset said: "For a swimming pool run by a local authority this would be bad news, but for a pool run as a charitable trust such as ours which has only a small input from the town council it has been disastrous, and reserves, which could have been used for retiling, have had to be used to cover some operational costs this year. "The people of Petersfield have already shown how much they value their outdoor pool by raising nearly £24,000 last season – a fantastic effort. And the pool has good backing from its supporters' club, which gives money and raise funds on a regular basis. But more money is needed and the fundraising is continuing and will need to continue." The pool's 'buy-a-tile' campaign is still running and money can be sent directly to the pool or handed in to the Petersfield Herald office on the High Street. There is also a Pool 200 club where people can buy a number for £3 a month and have the chance of winning up to £150. Details can be found on the website http://www.petersfieldpool.org">www.petersfieldpool.org or by calling Diane Harvey on 01730 266838. Pool bosses will hold an annual meeting in the Rose Room at the Festival Hall on Monday, March 17, at 7.30pm. Mrs Bissett added: "It would be great to see more people using the pool this season. So if you haven't given it a go yet, look out for some promotional offers during April and May and see the improvements for yourself." However, just as one project has got under way the pool has suffered another minor setback as part of a small wall outside the entrance was knocked over during the weekend. Mr Clark said: "This is what we are up against, once you get over one problem you have another one."
