Postbox artwork has popped up in Keswick in response to Allerdale Borough Council’s continued lack of options to provide adequate local swimming facilities.
Crocheted pillar box toppers, depicting scenes of swimmers outside a closed pool, and people enjoying activities on the lake that are only possible if you are confident in water, have appeared in Main Street and Lake Road.
Friends of Keswick Leisure (FOKL), a group of locals who are determined to find a solution to the issue of the closed pool, want these temporary installations to be a talking point for people walking through town.
“While locals are well aware of the issue, visitors to the town are not,” said crochet campaigner Claire Peat. “We want everyone to know that the pool is closed, and that tourism cash that flows in to Keswick is not being used for leisure facilities. The visitors and the townsfolk are all getting a raw deal.
The group is critical of the borough council, which is accused of trying to quietly sweep the concerns of Keswick residents and businesses under the rug.
For example, after holding a consultation they have refused to release the report they compiled. For this reason, FOKL is determined to continue to find creative ways to keep the pool closure on the agenda.
Recent FOI requests have revealed that Keswick generates more than £1 million of income for the council through parking revenues but due to a decade of cuts in local government funding it is claimed by the group that none of it is reinvested in Keswick.
The Reminder reported recently that the council is planning to sell the land adjacent to the leisure centre which could impact future plans for a new improved leisure centre to serve the local and visitor population.
“With the support of our MP, other towns across Allerdale and Copeland have received millions from central Government in Town Deal funding,” said Claire. “Meanwhile, people in Keswick are fobbed off and told to teach their children to ‘swim in the lake’ or else to travel miles to Cockermouth, Penrith or Workington.”
As a result, a survey by FOKL showed that many Keswickians have simply been forced to stop swimming: with children, the elderly and disabled most affected.
There are just two pillar box toppers in town at the moment but another is currently being made and it is hoped the “mini protest” will remain in place throughout the tourist season.
