There are few better ways to boost your health and wellbeing than swimming.
Lucking we have two brilliant pools locally - Faversham Pools and Maidstone Leisure Centre - but like many pools across the country the last few years haven't been easy for them. Covid, rising energy bills, and a gradual decline in the number of swimmers has left little in the budget for maintenance and improvements.
That's why at last year's Budget the Chancellor announced £60 million of funding to support pools across the country, and I encouraged our local pools to submit bids.
This week we found out the brilliant news that they've both been successful. Together they'll be getting nearly £750,000 of funding for much needed improvements - helping to secure their future for years to come.
Having such a big chunk of the funding allocated locally is a real win for the local area. Swimming is a sport for everyone, and I'd encourage anyone thinking about it to go along and give the pools a try.