Welcome to our new partner groups
We are delighted to welcome Pells Pool, Britain’s oldest continuously operating public swimming pool, and the Lewes Birth Collective, which offers holistic support throughout pregnancy, birth, postnatal and early parenting years, as partner groups, to Lewes Climate Hub. Check out all our partner groups here.
Pells Pool
Pells Pool is Britain’s oldest continuously operating public swimming pool. The original Pools (a subscription pool for swimming and a free pool for bathing) were constructed in 1860 and opened on 29 May 1861. The pool is fed by spring water drawn from the town’s chalk aquifer beneath the pool.
The Pool was threatened with closure and development into a skatepark in the late 1980s. The Save the Pells Pool Campaign found that as the land had been gifted to the people of Lewes in 1603 it could not be sold for development. The Pells Pool Community Association (PPCA) was formed as a charity in 2001 to operate the pool on behalf of the Town Council. It officially became an Historic Pool of Britain in 2023.
The pool has a thriving community of all ages and offers a variety of sessions for families and individuals. It is part of Foundry Healthcare’s social prescribing scheme and provides free swims to families facing financial barriers.
PPCA is committed to sustainability – recycling, ensuring minimal waste and supporting sustainable approaches to managing the pool systems, facilities and catering. In the last few years, the team have started to create wildlife habitats where possible in the pool grounds. Planters featuring a mix of mostly drought resistant Mediterranean herbs and perennials attract many bees, butterflies and other insects. A volunteer project has recently started to create a habitat for wildlife alongside the lawn and trees.
The Pells Pool team have really appreciated initial guidance from Lewes Wildflower and Lewes Arboretum and hope that by joining the Climate Hub it will be able to develop such links further in the coming years and offer mutual support to other like-minded local community groups.
Lewes Birth Collective
The Lewes Birth Collective is an initiative set up by local parents and practitioners to help improve support for families. Its aim is to make it easier for families to know what is happening locally and access services they need including: antenatal education, birth support, postnatal care, prenatal & postnatal yoga, infant feeding support, baby massage, parent workshops and community groups.
The Collective has grown from a passion to improve how mothers and families are supported through pregnancy, birth and early parenting. We believe that with the right support mothers can begin life with a new baby feeling nourished and powerful and we want to be part of a cultural shift that recognises and celebrates the incredible work of parenthood.
Visit its website to access a directory of local groups and practitioners, find out more about regular community events and sign up to the newsletter with monthly ‘what’s on’ listings, resources, recipes and more. www.birthcollective.uk
Current groups and activities include:
- Clothes & Toy swap at The Depot Studio, Sunday 19th April 10am to 12pm – free event, bring a bag of donations on the day or just come and take what you need
- Mothers’ Group at the Lewes House of Friendship, Fridays 11am to 12.30pm – £3 contribution includes refreshments (infant feeding support available from NHS trained volunteers)
- Building Blocks for toddlers at the Lewes Climate Hub, Mondays 2.15pm to 3pm: Music & Movement sessions to support child development in a relaxed and playful way – £5 drop-in, reduced cost and free spaces available
- Pregnancy Circles at The Open Door, Fridays 5.30pm to 7pm – monthly gatherings to slow down and tune in to your body, your baby and a loving community – £15, reduced cost places available
- More coming at the Climate Hub! Details to be announced soon.