It is time to take stock. I have been part of a group of local business men trying to broker a deal to keep the pool open and here he lays out where he thinks we are and what needs to now happen.

The council has announced the pool must shut at the end of July as to balance the budget we simply can't afford to keep it open as it was. Having seen the accounts and listened to councillors this seems to be a valid statement. There are large amounts of money spent on press releases, human resources outsourcing, and internal management which could all be reduced and easily pay for the pool, but it is now unlikely the Council will look at its own expenditure again. In fact the attraction of grants for redevelopment are possibly of more significance than saving the pool.

That said, Lytham St Annes needs and deserves public swimming. So what else causes the problems, well the main one is that not enough people swim. In fact since the Council asked local people to show their support by swimming the number of swimmers has DROPPED!

So maybe the council is right and the people of Lytham St Annes simply don't actually care enough. Many people in the Fylde will tell you that the locals are amazing at complaining but unlikely to ever actually do anything, is this really the town we live in. Let's take an example, I organise the St Annes triathlon, I put leaflets in all the 550 plus houses along the prom informing them about the event and asking for help in making it work and supporting the pool, I got three complaints and not one offer of help. So is the pool doomed? Do we get the services we deserve?

In the last ten years Ribby has built a good swimming pool and Ballantynes has opened as well as the new Pallantine and over ten small hotel pools have improved their quality and all these expensive, member driven areas have taken away swimmers from the pool. Maybe this shows most people want to "wallow" and not swim and small hot pools are what people need and it is not cost but rather a gym, hours of opening and the feeling of being in a club that people want?

Lytham St Annes is one of the wealthiest boroughs in the country so maybe we don't need affordable swimming? All these reasons mean numbers of swims in St Annes pool have dropped by over 100,000 per year.

Do we want a pool? If so lets let the council know, we need a resurge of interest, we need you to swim, and we need to find the money to keep the pool open. If not what is next, Fairhaven Lake, the theatres? There are not many services left in the Fylde and if we let this one go how can we stop the next one?

Where are we now?

1. The council has committed to ring fence the money to build a new pool in Lytham St Annes. This is fantastic and could mean that in two years we have a new pool We now need this minuted in a Cabinet meeting to go beyond the verbal promises of Councillor Coombes and Renwick and make it official.

2. The YMCA has taken over the management of the pool until July 31st to ensure it stays open until then by running the facility.

3. Kensington developers have offered enough funds to keep the pool open from July 31st until a new pool is built and to contribute towards a new pool if they get the planning permission for new houses in St. Annes.

4. The Fylde has to build new and affordable houses and is slightly behind where it should be in doing so and as such houses will be built.

5. The Lytham Quays protest showed that you can complain all you want and you still get all the houses but without any of the benefits and this abject failure demonstrate that developers will build.

6. As Kensington own huge tracts of land around the Fylde it is unlikely other developers will get the planning permission as easily as they will.

7. We can object to Kensington and delay the decision and the houses will still be built, like Lytham Quays, but by then the pool will be closed and we will get the houses and still lose the pool.

8. We need around about £13,000 per month from July 31st until a new pool is built to ensure the pool remains open. We would hope that by some intelligent review of the budgets in the council this nominal figure could be found, even if some of the extensive cross charging made by the Council to cover the pool for HR, Finance, legal, Tourism etc was removed this could get close to this figure. If not then without Kensington we need a new "white Knight" to find this funding.

9. The schools need to know where they will swim in the next month and if they have to move to Blackpool the borough will lose over £30,000 and the school children will be bussed longer distance losing educational time and never mind the Fylde Borough Councils damage to the environment because of this.

So let's take stock. If we do not find about £13,000 per month by July 31st the pool will shut. To find this we need the council to see if they can find some funding, if the facility is to be mothballed then this cost can be used.

We need local businesses; local wealthy individuals to see if a funding plan can be agreed. Think of Premier League football players earning more than this is a week, for some people this amount could be found, if they read this can they help us?

If the planning permission can be agreed by July then Kensington can fund the pool, so if this is our only option to keep swimming alive we need support for this planning.

Our Group does not any way work for anyone but our own companies and have no support for anyone except keeping the pool open. We appreciate as we have lived here all our lives that there is a lot of cynicism about Kensington and many people tell us "we have heard it all before" when it comes to promises, so maybe the time is right for Kensington to make a gesture here as well and possibly commit to keep the pool open for 6 months now as a show of good will. We also know all about the NIMBY (not in my back yard) attitude in Lytham St Annes and maybe we now have to accept things will change and if we can benefit from this so much the better.

Lytham St Annes, you have been passionate about the pool, have marched, shouted at meetings, written letters and now there is something actual you can do. If we really want to save our pool and not have two years of no local swimming lets make it happen. Tell the council you accept Kensington's offer, go swimming, write to your councillors and think of ways to find £13,000 per month.