SCOTTISH Borders Council has agreed an emergency £40k bail-out for a Borders swimming pool struggling to stay afloat.

On August 15, Jedburgh Facilities Leisure Trust (JFLT), operators of the town’s Laidlaw Swimming Pool and Fitness Centre, wrote to SBC to inform council officers and councillors it was close to insolvency.

The Trust asked that as a “matter of urgency” the council provide a Letter of Comfort confirming support that would enable it to continue trading and that it was supplied “with enough funds to pay off residual and current debt obligations until a formal award is made by the council”.

When members of SBC met on Thursday, August 29, they agreed to a payment of £40,000 in emergency funding from council reserves as an interim payment to keep the swimming pool operating in the short-term as the Trust formulated a business plan.

Members were told that the Trust had £3k available in the bank and an immediate wages bill of £20k due on Friday,  August 30.

In addition, the Trust had current debt of £32k and further outstanding debt of £26k.

The Trust has confirmed that with current levels of forecast income it is unable to service current and outstanding debt.

Members were told there was a need for the Trust to be restructured to make it sustainable for the future and that the funding was “not an open cheque book”.

Councillor Euan Jardine, leader of SBC, said: “If you look at social media you will see real passion from people wanting this pool to remain, to stay. There are a lot of memories associated with it and the Trust does a lot of good work.

“It would be good to sit down with the Trust and establish its focus, the direction of where it wants to go. We need to be pragmatic but this is not the silver bullet.”

Just a few days ago a £20,000 ‘Save the Jedburgh Pool from Closure’ Crowdfunding appeal was launched – with more than £6,000 already in the pot.

But members were informed that the latest funding was a “short-term fix” with the Trust facing financial challenges before the end of the year, and that its future was “on a knife-edge”.

It was noted that if JFLT does not successfully raise funding from private donations and/or a potential funding bids it is “likely the Trust will run out of cash before the December 2024 council meeting”.

The pool was constructed by Jedburgh Town Council in 1923 as a small municipal swimming facility.

It was later extended by the then regional council in 1974 to provide a much larger, 25 metre swimming pool to meet the standards of the day.

This facility served the local population well with the addition of new toilets and changing areas, a children’s play area and other alterations added as demand required over the years.

Management of the pool changed in 2003 when following closure by the regional council the management and responsibility for maintaining and running the facility was taken over by Jedburgh Leisure Facilities Trust.

To support the fundraising effort go to the pool’s Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/p/Laidlaw-Memorial-Pool-Fitness-Centre-100063474404846/?locale=en_GB