Forres hydrotherapy pool

May Taylor has dreamed for many years of having a hydrotherapy pool in Forres. The nearest hydrotherapy pool is in Nairn, but there is a very long waiting list for this pool. Keen for as many people as possible to benefit from hydrotherapy exercise, May organised regular visits to the Puffin hydrotherapy pool in Dingwall for people with arthritis. However she felt that the 80 mile round trip undid many of the benefits of the hydrotherapy.

Not one to sit around dreaming, May decided to campaign for a hydrotherapy pool in Forres, and started fundraising to support the project. A committee was formed to support the project, and they started work to get the local community involved.

Springfield Properties, a local building company soon became involved, offering to build the pool for nothing and helping to design the pool, which will be attached to the leisure centre. They also supported the committee’s work to raise money, and it is fitting that it was an event organised by them which broke the £200,000 target needed to get the pool built.

The plans for the pool, now called the Dolphin pool, and how it can best be used are being discussed with Moray Council and Grampian Health Board, and May hopes that the pool will be open in early 2008. But this success doesn’t mean that the fundraising can stop, as money will be needed to support the ongoing costs of the pool. To find out how you can become involved and support the Dolphin pool, visit the their website.