Swimming teacher scraps lessons amid neighbours row

FORMER

- BY ROBERT MACDONALD

Sarah Makin

Lancashire county swimmer who has prompted objections with a planning wrangle over holding commercial swimming lessons at her Rossendale home, says she now uses public pools instead.Sarah Makin runs the Above Surface Swim School and has used her home pool at Far Brex Farm, Coal Pit Lane, near Whitwell Bottom, for the past six years.

But this use has been the focus of planning applications and appeals involving Rossendale Council and the national Planning Inspectorate.

Now, she says it’s ‘sad’ her commercial lessons at home have had to end.

She said she renovated the pool some years ago, which had been used for other purposes like storage in the past.

She said: “I live on a farm which is reached by a lane.

“At the opposite end, there’s a cluster of neighbours’ homes which, I feel, are not effected by the lessons.

“But there's been a bit of witch hunt.

“Between them and the authorities, I've been told I cannot run commercial lessons at home.

“It's mind-blowing. I don’t understand that mentality. I thought I was doing something good for the borough.

“But a few other people don’t seem to get my way of thinking. It seems like a NIMBY mentality.

“Some neighbours had issues with parents bringing their kids in cars for swimming lessons, with cars going up and down the lane. So I asked parents to arrange car-shares, so there were less cars.

“And the swimming lessons were restricted to certain days and times.