I was delighted to join folks from across Eastbourne for the grand reopening of the Fun Pool at the Sovereign Centre last weekend. To mark the occasion, I had the honour of reactivating the wave machine – the same one that brought me so much joy as a child!

It was amazing to see and hear the cheers of children and families enjoying the pool once again. Great to hear from local residents that the Sovereign Centre was absolutely buzzing all weekend.

A huge thank you to Eastbourne Borough Council for listening to the community and negotiating a deal with the new operator to keep the pool open. The new operator GLL/Better, worked around the clock to bring the Fun Pool back to life and managed to get the Pool reopen in time for the Easter holidays – together with Eastbourne Borough Council they – will be investing £1 million in the Sovereign Centre’s future.

I also thank Mr Speaker for allowing me to raise the Sovereign Centre in the House of Commons five times – more than any other issue – as part of our community’s fight to keep it open!

However, the biggest thank you goes to local residents, whose passionate campaigning helped protect this much-loved facility.

Despite over 160 council-run swimming pools across the country have been forced to shut their doors since 2015 due to rising costs and underfunding by the previous Conservative Government, Eastbourne has well and truly bucked this trend.

As the BBC put it, this reopening acts as a blueprint for how a community can turn a tough situation into a positive outcome for all – this can now be a model for other councils to follow.

I remain absolutely committed to safeguarding swimming for the next generation and will continue to work hard to protect this vital community asset.

Political opinion with Josh Babarinde MP: The fun pool reopens!