Only the school's governors can reopen the pool, the council tells the 2,547-name petition, and it will not fund it. Cabinet notes the reply on 16 November.

Southend council says it has no power to reopen the swimming pool at Leigh North Street Primary School, and will not pay to keep it going. That is its formal answer to a petition signed by 2,547 people.

The response goes to Cabinet on Monday 16 November (petition response to Cabinet). Cabinet is asked only to note it. There is no decision to make, because the report says the decision is not the council’s.

What happened to the pool

The pool closed on 17 July 2026, by decision of the school’s governing body. The report says the headteacher recommended it because running and maintaining the pool was “no longer financially sustainable”. Cheaper ways for pupils to have swimming lessons could be arranged elsewhere, the headteacher advised. The chair of governors agreed, and parents were told during the summer term.

The pool was used by many pupils in the school day. A local swimming club also used it at weekends and on some evenings, the report says.

The e-petition, “Save North Street School Swimming Pool”, gathered 2,547 verified signatures between 17 and 29 June 2026. It asked the council to stop the permanent closure and to work with the school and the community on a long-term way to run it.

The council’s answer

The report rests on one point: Leigh North Street is a council-maintained school, but its governors control its buildings.

  • Day-to-day decisions sit “solely with the school and governing body”, including how its buildings are used and its finances.
  • The council can intervene only in limited cases, such as a school causing concern or a school whose finances are at risk. Officers have decided neither applies.
  • It will not fund the pool. The report says financial responsibility “sits fully with the Headteacher and Governing Body”.

Cabinet is asked to note four things:

  1. the governors’ assurance that pupils will still get the swimming the national curriculum requires
  2. that closing the pool is the governors’ decision, and the council cannot intervene
  3. the other pools available locally
  4. that the council cannot give the money the petition asks for

Is there a way back?

The report says the governors “will consider any viable community-led business case for the pool to be re-opened”. It adds that they have “not received a robust business proposal” so far.

Meanwhile the school is looking at other educational uses for the pool building. The governors have told the council they do not plan to hand the building back. If a school ever did, the council would first need to be sure the school had no other educational use for it.

Where pupils and families can swim

Schools must teach swimming at Key Stage 2, but they do not need their own pool to do it. The report lists the alternatives in and around Leigh:

  • Belfairs Swim Centre, Leigh-on-Sea, with a teaching pool
  • Southend Leisure and Tennis Centre at Garon’s Park, with a main pool, a diving pool and a learner pool already used by many schools
  • West Leigh indoor pool, which runs a swim school

What it means for you

  • The pool stays closed unless the governors accept a community plan to run it.
  • If you want to make that case, the report makes clear the governing body is the place to take it, not the council.
  • Your child will still be taught to swim, at another pool, according to the school’s assurance to the council.
  • Cabinet meets at 6pm on Monday 16 November in the Civic Centre, and the meeting is webcast.

The same meeting decides the future of Three Shells Lagoon.

Sources