Rossington’s Pride in Place Programme to Fund £1 Swimming for Residents

Rossington residents will be able to swim for just £1 at their local leisure centre after the village's new Pride in Place Neighbourhood Board unanimously approved the scheme at its first meeting. 

The £1 swim sessions, open to both adults and children living in Rossington, are the first investment to be made through the Pride in Place programme, which will see £20 million of government funding invested in the village over the next decade. 

Swimming for adults in Rossington has previously been subsidised by the local ward councillors, with the Parish Council supporting children's sessions. By using Pride in Place funding to continue and expand the scheme, existing ward and parish funding will be freed up to support other community initiatives the Neighbourhood Board claims. 

The decision comes as Lee Pitcher, Member of Parliament for Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme, has been leading a national campaign on water safety. Mr Pitcher recently spoke in Parliament calling for urgent action on drowning prevention, warning that the country faces "a national emergency" after around twenty people lost their lives to drowning during the recent spell of hot weather.  

Lee Pitcher MP said: "Children from the most deprived communities are twice as likely to drown, and access to supervised swimming is one of the most effective ways to change that. This initiative was one of the first things residents told us they wanted to see through Pride in Place, and I'm proud that the Board has acted on it straight away." 

The £1 swim scheme was approved at the Board's inaugural meeting on 16 July at Rossington Leisure Centre. The Board also discussed a range of other early priorities identified through community engagement, including new bins and benches, additional signage celebrating Rossington's heritage, improvements to playground equipment, and the development of a community directory connecting local groups and services. A full Pride in Place Plan setting out the ten-year vision for Rossington will be developed and shared later this year. 

Pride in Place is a UK Government programme providing up to £20 million over ten years to 244 of the most in-need communities across the country. Decisions on how the funding is spent are made by a local Neighbourhood Board, made up of residents and people with a connection to the area. 

Rossington's Board is chaired by Rachael Blake, a former ward councillor, with Elaine Spencer as Vice Chair. Members include Bob Anderson, John Adam, Kimberley Brooke, Sally Davis, Alison Dilworth, Gemma Johnson, and Mick Taylor, alongside Lee Pitcher MP. The Board is continuing to recruit additional members, with representation from local schools, young people, businesses, and sports clubs soon to be added. 

Residents who are interested in finding out more about the programme can visit www.teamdoncaster.org.uk/pride-in-place.