Swimming against the tide: Leading Northamptonshire coach stays positive despite battle to reopen facility

A swimming coach and analyst says he is desperately hoping to get the go-ahead to reopen in the next few weeks.

Stuart Hacker launched The Swimcube at Brixworth Country Park just over a year ago and business was booming prior to lockdown earlier this year in March.

Now, as more and more businesses and venues are reopening, Stuart is aiming for July 4 to get back up and running...and it can't come soon enough.

The Swimcube is a cutting edge facility aimed at improving the performance of all ranges of swimmers from beginners through to professionals. The 14ft endless pool allows swimmers to work on their technique and swim against a flow of water at a pace that is suitable to them. Swimmers effectively stay stationary, allowing Stuart to video and analyse their technique and to give feedback to improve their performance.

"Swimming is my passion, I am a marathon swimmer and swam the English Channel in 2018. I am obsessed with swimming and the technique of swimming," Stuart said.

Stuart says the support of his customers has been superb throughout lockdown but the process of reopening has been frustrating.

He has not received any income since closing before lockdown in March and has lost "thousands and thousands of pounds". He has also struggled to obtain funding from the retail and leisure grant programme due to red tape delays with the local authorities.

He is now waiting for the restrictions to be eased to allow him to reopen.

"The set up I have here makes it really easy to reopen - I can be completely separated from the swimmer and we can put in all the safety measures required," Stuart said.

One of the issues is that facilities such as Stuart's are included in the same restrictions as larger leisure centres.

"They are easing lockdown - but they are doing it in sweeping groups rather than individual situations. It has stopped me in my tracks," he said.

Stuart is now hoping to reopen on July 4.

"Our facility really can help people when they get back into swimming, We can offer something very good and very safe. We can offer something very different to the large leisure centres," he said.

"I am getting emails from people every day - my clients have been amazing. The support of the client base has been incredible. Everyone is desperate to help and see us through this," Stuart added.