Community Shares
You already know the story… Tynemouth Outdoor Pool, situated at the southern end of Longsands Beach, opened in 1925 and quickly became the go-to destination for locals and visitors alike. But with the introduction of cheap package holidays in the 1970s, its popularity began to wane and in 1996 it was unceremoniously turned into an artificial rockpool that ultimately became the crumbling eyesore it is today.
As a result, those same locals and visitors have spent the last 20 years asking one big question: when are they going to do something about the pool?
But who are ‘they’?
That’s a good question too. However, the answer to this one is actually pretty simple.
‘They’ are ‘us’. The community, the businesses, the families, the children, the parents, the grandparents, the swimmers, the surfers, the triathletes, the joggers, the dog walkers, the fresh air junkies, the locals, the visitors…
It’s all of us. We’re the people who’ll use the pool. We’re the people who want something better for our beach, better for Tynemouth, and better for the North East as a whole.
And most importantly, we’re the people who genuinely do have the power to make this happen.
That’s why we’ll be launching an exciting Community Shares Offer soon – so that everyone has the opportunity to dive in and play a huge part in the future of the pool.
Pre-registration for our Community Share Offer is open, so please register your interest by completing the form on this page today!
Why invest in Community Shares?
Since 2009, almost 100,000 people have invested over £100m to support 350 community businesses throughout the UK.
And every single one of those projects has helped to build a stronger, more vibrant, and more independent community.
So whether you live in and around North Tyneside and the wider North East region, or you used to live here, or you have family or relatives living in the area, or you just like visiting the place, there are loads of reasons why you might want to invest in the future of Tynemouth Outdoor Pool.
Why should you invest in a new outdoor pool?
- You’d be transforming one of the country’s most incredible eyesores (at the end of one of its favourite beaches)
- You’d be contributing to one of the biggest community driven regeneration projects the UK has ever seen
- You’d be standing up and taking responsibility for making your own community even better
- You’d be fostering a huge sense of pride and achievement across the region
- You’d be setting an example that other communities would follow
- You’d be creating a destination that thousands of people would want to visit from around the world
- You’d be doing something amazing which would go down in history
- You’d be preserving a piece of the North East’s rich culture and heritage
- You’d be helping to build something new which would be enjoyed by generations to come
- You’d own a little bit of one of the North East’s most iconic structures
…and that’s just for starters.
How much do we need to raise?
To complete Phase One, we need to raise around £3m in total. We’re hoping our Community Share Offer will raise around £500,000, and we think that’s more than achievable given that the national average raised from over 150 similar offers in the UK is £200k.
However, the rules around Community Shares mean we can’t collect pledges until we’re ready to build a new pool. That means we’re primarily viewing our Community Share offer as a means to get us over the finishing line.
Or, to put it another way, once we have enough capital funding in place, your pledges will be the final piece of the puzzle – meaning you’ll be playing a huge part in delivering our brand new outdoor pool.
One of the other questions we get asked almost on a daily basis is: “how much have you raised so far?”
You can read the long answer to this in our main FAQs on the site, but the short answer is that we’ve probably already raised nearly £300k in donations, events, merchandise sales, and pro-bono work – every penny of which has gone towards progressing the project, and getting it to this stage.
Right now, we’re spending a considerable amount of time looking at funding, including examining how other large regional projects are funded, in order to develop a robust capital funding strategy.
There are no guarantees, of course, but we believe we’re in an incredibly strong position – and with a combination of capital funding, Community Shares, and a bit of luck and determination, a brand new outdoor pool is almost with grasp!
What’s the status of the project right now?
This is the really exciting bit! The short answer is that we’ve now submitted a full planning application for Phase One of the build, plus an outline application for Phases Two and Three!
An achievable 3 phase approach
Given the constraints of finding large pots of money in the current financial climate, we’ve split the project into 3 sensible – and very financially achievable – phases:
- Phase One – this involves the refurbishment of the pool, and is our main raison d’etre. It involves bringing the pool back into use, filling it with warm water and ultimately tidying up that horrible mess at the end of our beach. The cost? Around £3M.
- Phase Two – this involves establishing the lower part of the adjacent buildings which will most likely comprise of permanent changing rooms and a cafe. The cost? Around £3m.
- Phase Three – finally, the bulk of this phase involves finishing the adjacent building with second floor that could house anything from a gym to a restaurant. The cost? Around £1.75m.
Our next big goal is to secure planning permission for the site, and we’re very close to doing just that.
Not only does this continue to demonstrate how serious we are about the project, it also means that we’ll be ‘Project Ready’, which satisfies the criteria of major funding bodies, including the Coastal Communities Fund. This will also be the furthest that any attempt to redevelop the site has gone since the pool was closed in the 90’s.
Who’s behind the pool project?
We’re the Friends of Tynemouth Outdoor Pool – a community based, charitable organisation that’s focused on regenerating the outdoor pool site. But we’re not doing all this on our own…
The committee
Right now, the Friends’ committee includes members of the local community who generously donate their time and expertise, together with representatives from a range of organisations from North Tyneside Council through to Northumbrian Water.
Businesses and organisations
Since the project launched, we’ve also had the support of a nationally and internationally renowned team drawn from the architecture, building design, surveying, engineering, planning, photography and artwork sectors, and we estimated that over £100k of pro-bono design and planning work has already been generously donated to the project.
Here are just some of the names that have played a part in the project so far (you’re definitely in good hands!):
More FAQs
The following FAQs should tell you everything you need to know about our Community Share Offer at this stage. But if you need more info, please check out the main FAQs on our site, or get in touch at info@tynemouthoutdoorpool.com.
How much do you need to raise for Phase One?
To complete Phase One, we need to raise around £3m in total. We’re hoping to secure around £2.5m in capital funding, and we believe our Community Share Offer will raise around £500,000 which will be enough to get us over the finishing line (and we think that’s more than achievable given that the national average raised from over 150 similar offers in the UK is £200k).
What will Phase One look like?
There’s a huge clue in the picture at the top of this page! We’ve been hard at work preparing brand new visuals and drawings to support Phase One, and you’ll be able to see and read about these in detail on our website and in our shop on Tynemouth Front Street.
What are Community Shares?
Community Shares give the people who care most about a project (that’s you and us!) much more control over its future. Effectively, anyone who owns a share in the pool will own the pool itself, and will have a say in what happens to it. You can get the full lowdown on Community Shares here.
What’s in it for me?
We’re still dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s when it comes to the details, but we’re hoping that our offer will follow other similar community share offers in providing a Tax Break for anyone who invests. For example, you could get 30% of the value of your investment back as a a reduction in your tax bill.
On top of that, anyone who invests could also enjoy a range of other benefits like a return on your investment and we’re exploring the possibility of invites to the pool’s grand opening, priority access to events, discounted entry once the pool is up and running, and more.
Will I be able to get my money back?
Again, this is something we’re hoping will be possible. There would be some things to bear in mind though: for example, you’d need to keep your shares for a minimum of three years, and the pool would need to be profitable before we could return any investments.
Will there be minimum and maximum levels of investment?
The maximum that anyone can invest will depend on how we structure our organisation. We’re still finalising what the minimum amount will be – but we’ll make sure it’s appropriate for the majority of our community.
Ok, I’m in! What do you need from me right now?
Brilliant! Pre-registration is now open, so what we’d really like you to do is register your no-obligation interest in our Community Share Offer by completing the form on this page. Remember, we can’t collect pledges until we’ve secured enough capital funding to be ready to start building the pool – but it’s still important to pledge ASAP as this will give us the best possible chance of securing that funding we need.
How can I get in touch if I have more questions?
You can email us at: info@tynemouthoutdoorpool.com
You can search for us on Facebook and Twitter.
Or you can write to us at: Friends Of Tynemouth Outdoor Pool, Ye Olde Hundred, 69 Church Way, North Shields NE29 0AE.