AN INTEGRAL community project is celebrating a successful year, as it looks ahead to what else it can achieve.

Wigton Baths Trust will host its annual general meeting on Tuesday with a look back at what the baths have achieved, as well as the trustees’ proposals to move it forward for the next year.

Alan Pitcher, the honorary president, has also issued a call for more volunteers to join the board of trustees in what he calls a “rewarding experience”.

He said: “We need fresh blood to come forward with different ideas, to take some of the work load off some of the trustees that have been there for quite a while.

“It’s a very time-consuming job. It is hard work but it is very rewarding, because we’re getting 10,000 people per year through the door.”

Volunteers could offer their help in a variety of different ways, whether that is through general administrative work, supporting fundraising activities, or just contributing new ideas on how to move the trust forward.

Mr Pitcher played a key role in saving the baths back in 2014 and is eager to bring on more local voices.

“We saved it for the community,” he said.

“It is a community project and we do need members of the community to come and help out.

“The community really has stepped up to support us, it must be said.”

Wigton Baths are a rallying point for the people of the town because it has played such a large role in everyone’s lives.

“There is hardly anyone in Wigton who wasn’t taught to swim in that pool.

“You can go back 70 or 80 years and even the oldest people say ‘I’ll contribute because I was taught to swim there in 1935’.”

The meeting on Tuesday will see just how much of an impact the baths has had on the community in this year alone.

It has been a busy year for the trust, which has been approved for various grants by Sports England and the People’s Postcode Lottery to expand and improve the baths.

“We have had an increase in schools coming for their swimming lessons,” said Mr Pitcher.

“We’re at capacity almost with our normal swimming lessons, which is what we always try to achieve.”

As well as boosting the number of people learning to swim, they have also made changes that will bring joy to people who are swimming just for the fun of it.

“We have brought in a new set of floats which you can see on the internet,” added Mr Pitcher, as he described the giant inflatable obstacle course.

On the practical side, the trust has also had the car park levelled, which members say was “really important”.

The meeting will also be an opportunity for the public, and trustees, to learn more about how the day-to-day running of the project has impacted the trust.

The trust will look into the future to explore how the next year will be spent to improve and continue to grow the success of the Wigton Baths.

To volunteer, contact the Facebook page or just pop down to the baths.