Trustees and volunteers attended Barkway Market to inform the community of our plans. 125 new people signed up to stay informed of our progress by optioning to receive our e-newsletter.

Victoria Burt hosted ‘Dance the Decades’ fundraising event raising £1114

Sarah Hopewell raised £1292 running the London Marathon in swimwear.

A Community Ownership Fund expression of interest successfully submitted and eligibility of funding confirmed.

Trustees met with members of Hertfordshire County Council and East Herts District Council to discuss our business plan and next steps in trying to secure the lease of the Ward Freman Pool.

Ward Freman Community Pool Group CIO becomes registered charity with the RCN 1207746

Business plan v1 submitted to Hertfordshire County Council in order to secure the lease of the pool.

Ward Freman Community Pool Group Charitable Incorporated Organisation application submitted to the Charity Commission

Pool drainage completed and the sides are still standing!

There are many community owned pools thriving throughout the UK, several coming back from a worse state of repair than Ward Freman. They have done it, so can we!

Questionnaire launched to gather the community views about the pool’s future. 650 responses within the first three weeks.

A meeting of officers at County and District councils concluded that if a community group wished to take on the facility, in principle this would be agreed, pending a viable business plan.

Pool Closed

A petition with over 1200 signatures was presented at a full District Council meeting. It did not result in a change of position from East Herts District council.

Eleven pool users met at the Buntingford Scout Hut along with district councillors, to find out more about the issues, see what the options were, and start developing a plan to save our pool.

Local resident Louise Hampton started a ‘Go Fund Me’ fundraising page. £890 was donated by the community in the first month.

Residents raised concern at the news of pool closure. Problems with the filtration system, tiles and other issues with the pool would cost £543,000 to repair. Collectively the councils were not in a position to fund these repairs. Costs could spiral as the pool would need to be drained to find out why tiles were lifting which risked the sides collapsing.

Pool users, Buntingford Swimming Club and local pool staff informed the pool will be closing 23rd December 2023 due to health and safety concerns, whilst future options were explored.

Freman College becomes an academy with Hertfordshire County Council retaining ownership of the Ward Freman Pool. Agreement still remains that the pool is for school use 9am – 5.30pm term time. The 40/60 split between County and District also remained in place.

Ward Freman School changes its name to Freman College, felt to more accurately reflect the age range and expectations of the students. However the pool name remains unchanged.

£3,500 spent to replace the hot water system

£1500 Spent on cavity wall insulation

The pool temporarily closes for 14 weeks to repair tiles

Due to tiles lifting the pool had to close

A joint agreement was signed between Hertfordshire County Council (the
building owners), and East Herts District Council, outlining the use of the pool. It was specified that the pool was for school use only between 9am and 5.30pm Monday-Friday term time. The remaining time the pool was available to the public. Responsibility for costs of maintaining the pool were to be funded 40% County Council, and
60% East Herts District Council.

Ward Freman pool was built as part of the Ward Freman School which opened in 1970. Named in honour of Elizabeth Freman, the first recorded benefactor of Buntingford Grammar School in 1633 (and built on land belonging to the Freman family), and Seth Ward Bishop of Salisbury (1667-1689) a student and later benefactor of the Grammar School too.