A BUSINESS helping children learn to swim has opened a brand new pool in Stanway.

Mini Swimming, which has taught hundreds of youngsters across Colchester to swim, has opened its second pool at the Angora Business Park, off Peartree Road.

The £240,000 new facility will allow the oversubscribed business to offer more classes for children in a brand new Covid secure facility.

Kelly Boyle-Ames created Mini Swimming nine-years-ago, setting up its first pool near her home in Lexden two-years later.

She said: “It is very exciting.

“We have wanted to build our own pool for a long time but it is a lot of money and really difficult to find the right site.

“It has been an awful lot of hard work, particularly in the current climate, where we have had to think about coronavirus restrictions too.

“But since we opened on Saturday we have had some great feedback from parents who are delighted to be able to get back to doing activities as a family again.”

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The business chose its new location due to the availability of parking in the area and the rapid growth of Stanway as a whole.

It had originally planned to open the site in March, but the coronavirus lockdown called a halt to the plan.

Now it is open, the new facility will host classes for youngsters between the ages of six-weeks and ten-years-old, as well as being available for private hire for families.

Mrs Boyle-Ames said: “Stanway is a rapidly growing area and it is nice for residents to have a new facility which they don’t need to drive to.

“Yes I run a business but I feel we are offering a service to young families in the area as well.

“People have been on a waiting list for our lessons for some time so it is great to be able to expand our offering.”

Mini Swimming already employs 22 swimming coaches, and this number could grow as the business expands.

Mrs Boyle-Ames said: “All of our team are mums and dads who brought their kids along to our classes and decided they wanted to get involved.

“It is their passion, and it is mine too, so it is great to be able to do it.”

To find out more about the classes the pool offers visit miniswimming.co.uk.