The vice-chair of Castletown Commissioners, Beth Cannan, has stated that making people in the town travel elsewhere to use swimming pool facilities is ‘simply not fair’.

The Department of Education, Sport and Culture has made a recommendation to close the Southern Swimming Pool, and a motion will be put to Tynwald at the end of February to decide its fate.

The pool in the south has been open since the 1970s while more than 500 primary school children use it for their weekly lessons.

The decision has been made for ‘financial reasons’, with the department suggesting it would cost around half a million pounds to keep it afloat.

A report looking into ‘Regional Sports Hubs’ by the Department of Infrastructure and the DESC says there’s ‘no situation’ where this amount of money could be found.

Ms Cannan, who has been the vice-chair of Castletown Commissioners since May 2023, said: ‘I think there should be money available.

‘We have one of the highest amounts of social housing for low income families on the island, and adding extra costs for travel to another pool is just not fair.

‘I understand we have financial challenges and tough decisions have to be made, but I think the social impact of closing this pool cannot be understated.’