THIS summer marks the silver anniversary of the opening of Petersfield’s indoor leisure centre, the Taro, complete with its swimming pool.

Generations of youngsters swam or just played about in the pond on the Heath and there were tragedies when children drowned because of their inability to swim. Trips to Southsea and other seaside resorts were the only alternative for anyone wanting to enjoy the fun and health benefits of swimming.

Nationally, after the Second World War, with much talk of redevelopment and improvements to living standards, many communities began to look to their councils to provide swimming pools.

In Petersfield, moves to provide a pool began in the mid-1950s when representatives of the town’s organisations, including the chamber of commerce, Round Table and the Rotary Club, got together, with the backing of Petersfield Urban District Council, although no site was identified at the time.

The three organisations made a public appeal for £9,000 and the Ministry of Education promised a grant of £3,000.

Fundraising began for a site on land owned by the council north of the Town Hall and the pool was designed by the council’s surveyor and engineer, John Thomas.

The money was gradually gathered and five years after serious efforts had started to bring the project to fruition, in May 1962 the pool was opened by Minister for Education Sir David Eccles at a cost of £13,000.

With its lido-like atmosphere, the pool quickly became popular but when the weather was cold or wet attendances dropped.

Operation Splash was launched in 1969 to make a further appeal for funds to install heating.

The necessary £1,500 was raised within only 14 months.

The future of the open air pool was thrown in doubt in 1976 when an ambitious plan for an East Hampshire District Council civic centre on the town hall site, including the pool area, was mooted but this was rejected as too expensive and the council moved to the former Lifeguard Assurance offices at Penns Place, leaving the pool to prosper.

Since those early days the pool has maintained community support and through fundraising by its many supporters and volunteers has been able to keep improving its facilities and has opened year on year.

In 2007, a further major fundraising effort was needed by the community to provide £75,000 for retiling the pool.

Now open every day in the summer, it has facilities for disabled people, hot showers, refurbished and lit changing rooms, a relined paddling pool, sun loungers, picnic tables, benches and a covered area in case of rain.

The pool is run by a charitable trust which came about in 1992 after the facility was transferred from the ownership of East Hampshire District Council to Petersfield Town Council.

This coincided with the opening of the district council’s Taro Leisure Centre at Penns Field east of the town so that the pools could run independently.