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Swimming Pool for Alston, Cumbria

Brief

The community of Alston Moor interviewed a number of consultants before selecting Gaia for their combined experience in Community Sports projects and Ecological Design. The brief given to Gaia is to develop a credible business plan for the project which demonstrates that it can be sustained into the future.

Prospectus

The project is currently in the midst of its prospectus stage. A very large number of local people turned out to the first concept planning meeting and came up with a number of ideas. The most powerful of these was to build a wind farm in order to be able to supply all the energy needs of the project. This would enable Alston Moor Project for Leisure and the Environment (AMPLE) to become the UK's first financially viable swimming pool.
This project sits in an area which has been very seriously affected by the 2001 Foot and Mouth epidemic, and diversification of rural activity is essential for the future survival of this remote rural area.