From Fighting for Survival to Changing Lives: The Story of Metheringham Pool

Four years ago, Metheringham Community Swimming Pool, fondly known by the local community as Meg Pool, faced a crisis that threatened its future. Today, it welcomes thousands of swimmers, supports local schools and community groups, offers fully inclusive and accessible facilities for people with additional needs, and is planning confidently for the future. This is the story of how a community came together to save its pool, and how that journey transformed far more than a community facility.  

When staff and residents from The Gables gathered for a photograph in December 2024 to celebrate a major grant award, there was one person missing. The group had come together to mark funding that would help improve the pool’s changing facilities and accessibility, but at that point the facilities still could not support everyone who wanted to use them.  

Nearly two years later, that same individual returned to the water for the first time in several years. 

Family members stood alongside care staff, volunteers and lifeguards as he swam at Metheringham Pool again. It was a moment years in the making, made possible by fundraising, building work, specialist equipment and the determination of a community that believed everyone should have the chance to take part in a fully accessible and inclusive facility.  

For many people, that moment would have looked like the conclusion of a successful building project. 

For the volunteers behind Meg Pool, it represented something much bigger. 

It was proof that the pool they had fought so hard to save was now changing lives. 

The Crisis Nobody Saw Coming 

Like many cherished community facilities, Metheringham Pool had evolved through decades of local support and volunteer commitment. In 2016 Mel & Terry Wright were asked by the Parish Council to take over the running of the pool.  Under their leadership the pool became a registered charity in 2019 and over the next few years, a group of Trustees – all with different skills to offer – joined them to keep the pool open. By 2022, however, trustees knew significant investment was needed. The pool’s ageing filtration system was reaching the end of its operational life and, without replacement, closure would eventually become unavoidable. Funding of around £39,000 had been secured from FCC Communities Foundation to undertake a major refurbishment and protect the pool’s future.  

Then reality intervened. 

As work progressed, contractors discovered severely deteriorated pipework. The further the refurbishment advanced, the more issues emerged. Money that had been carefully allocated was quickly absorbed by unexpected repairs. Then, after the original pool surface was removed, an old structural crack appeared to be reopening. Suddenly, the project faced an immediate funding gap of around £8,000. 

The organisation had already exhausted its reserves. It had no emergency funding available. Worse still, time was running out. 

The refurbishment needed to move quickly into the next phase. Funding extensions had been secured, but only if the organisation could demonstrate that the project would be completed. Without a solution, the work would stall, funding could be lost and the future of the pool would be placed in serious doubt.  

“We were basically casting around to try and find any source of funding that we could,” recalled trustee Karen Rymer (Trustee in charge of writing grant applications). 

At the time, fundraising was powered almost entirely by goodwill and determination. Volunteers knocked on doors. Local people donated what they could. Cake sales were organised. Appeals were made through schools and community networks. Support was generous, but there was no structured fundraising strategy, no online giving platform and little experience of grant fundraising.  

The future of the pool rested largely on hope.   

The Week Everything Changed 

The turning point came after Claire Finney (Trustee in charge of fundraising) contacted Lincolnshire Community Foundation, which encouraged the pool to contact LVET. On 1 June 2022, trustees found themselves explaining their predicament during hurried conversations between work commitments and project deadlines. What followed was a week of phone calls, meetings, funding suggestions and practical support.  

Within days, the picture began to change. 

Potential funding routes were identified. Community fundraising gained momentum. Local support intensified. A regional television appeal made by the Chairperson of the Pool Melanie Wright helped raise awareness. By the end of the effort, around £20,000 had been raised through donations, fundraising and additional support, helping to complete a refurbishment project that ultimately cost around £65,000.  

Looking back, Karen still remembers the moment confidence returned. 

“There was a way forward and the pool was not going to close.”  

In August 2022, Metheringham Pool reopened. 

After months of uncertainty, reopening felt less like the completion of a construction project and more like a community victory.  

The Real Impact of Support

The emergency fundraising effort saved the pool. 

But according to Karen, the most significant impact came afterwards. 

The relationship with LVET helped the organisation move from reactive fundraising to strategic planning. Trustees began targeting funding opportunities that aligned with their priorities, assessing reporting obligations before applying and investing time where success was most likely. Instead of pursuing every opportunity, they learned to focus on the right opportunities.  

That change mattered enormously for a volunteer-led organisation. 

“We were reactive and we were able to become proactive because of being with LVET.”  

Karen speaks passionately about the value of saving volunteer time. 

Karen says LVET’s support made a practical difference by helping the trustees focus their limited time and energy on the most relevant grant opportunities, rather than trying to sift through every possible source of funding themselves. That guidance gave them the mental capacity to make stronger applications, manage the process properly and do the job well, even while balancing their volunteer roles with work and other commitments. 

There was also something less tangible, but equally important. 

“It also made us realise we weren’t alone.”  

For volunteers carrying responsibility for a community asset facing genuine uncertainty, that reassurance mattered. 

A Pool Reborn 

When Metheringham Pool reopened in 2022, it operated for only around five and a half weeks before the season ended. Even in that limited period, the pool recorded 1,930 swims.  

What happened next demonstrated just how important the facility remained to local people. 

The first full season after refurbishment recorded 10,905 attendances in 2023, including swimmers and non-swimming visitors. School swimming returned. Lessons resumed. Family activities expanded. Community groups increased their use of the facility.  

Today, Metheringham Pool is far more than a swimming pool. 

Provisional figures for 2026 show 26 different types of activity and an estimated 12,635 swimming attendances, with overall footfall expected to be higher when non-swimming visitors are included. The programme now includes swimming lessons, school swimming, parent and toddler sessions, Aqua Challenge classes, Zumba, community group sessions, private parties, meditation sessions and floating sound baths.  

Around 1,300 school swimming attendances are expected this year alone, ensuring every child in the local primary school has access to swimming. More than 2,300 attendances are expected through parties, while group bookings, exercise programmes and community activities attract thousands more visits throughout the season.  

Groups using the pool now include The Gables, Rainbow Stars, home education groups, deployed families, the WI, Scouts, Brownies and Guides.  

The organisation that once worried about surviving has become one of the community’s most active and versatile local assets. 

Opening Doors 

The most visible transformation can be seen in the facilities themselves. 

For decades, the changing rooms had changed very little. Dating back to 1975, they consisted of basic changing areas and limited toilet provision, with no accessible changing facilities. For some people, that meant swimming simply was not an option.  

Today the picture is entirely different. 

The site now includes accessible changing facilities, a wet room, an adult changing station, a mobile hoist and specialist equipment that allows more people to access the water safely and comfortably.  

Making that possible required another extraordinary community effort. 

Funding included £85,521 from FCC Communities Foundation, £25,000 from the NKDC Rural England Prosperity Fund, £4,000 towards a mobile hoist from former Lincoln Minster Round Table members, and contributions from local businesses, residents, councillors and fundraising groups. Trustee Claire Finney‘s fundraising committee alone raised more than £5,000 during 2025.  

The result is not just a better building. 

It is a facility able to welcome people who previously could not participate. 

At the Heart of the Community 

Behind every improvement, every activity and every swim is a team of dedicated volunteers. 

The 2026 activity records show more than 633 volunteer hours in the tuck shop alone, with final figures expected to be closer to 700 hours once additional volunteering is included. That sits alongside maintenance, governance, fundraising, events and the countless unseen tasks that keep the organisation running.  

Their efforts have created something much larger than a swimming pool. 

They have created a place where children learn a life-saving skill. A place where local groups come together. A place where people can exercise, socialise and improve their wellbeing. A place where families make memories. A place where barriers are being removed. The ripple effect reaches beyond the pool itself, as grandparents and parents meet and socialise while little ones swim, and adults and older people form new friendships through regular visits and shared activities.  

And perhaps that is the real story of Metheringham Pool. 

Not the crack in the concrete. 

Not the funding crisis. 

Not even the refurbishment. 

The real story is what happened when a community decided that losing its pool was not an option. 

Four years later, thousands of swims, hundreds of volunteer hours and countless acts of generosity have proved that decision was the right one. And for the swimmer who finally returned to the water after years away, the impact is impossible to measure in statistics alone. Perhaps, it is also important to note that Metheringham Pool celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2025 – boldly reminding us of its place in the community.  

But remember, there is always a new challenge to contend with. Despite repairs in 2022, the work continues to keep this pool open and running at it’s best. Metheringham Pool is now focused on raising £20,000 for new filter system as the old one is no longer fit for purpose… and we know with the support of this community  they can do it.  

If you would like to find out more about Metheringham Pool and ways you can support this fantastic community pillar, contact them here: admin@metheringhamswimmingpool.org.uk