Argyll and the Islands Enterprise (AIE) is committing £375,000 towards the creation of a swimming pool for the island communities of Mull and Iona.  This includes £169,000 from the HIE Activity programme, a European funded initiative aimed at developing and promoting leisure activities in the Highlands and Islands.

After 20 years of campaigning and fundraising for a leisure facility, Mull and Iona Community Enterprise Ltd (MICE) has been awarded the funding package to help meet the £1.6 million cost of the project.

The facility is to be built adjacent to the Isle of Mull Hotel at Craignure and will feature a 20m x 8.5m swimming pool, a small children's pool, changing areas and a café.

Owners of the hotel, the North British Hotels Trust, is pledging £250,000 towards the swimming pool and the group will lease the facility from MICE and manage it on a day to day basis, with hotel guests having access to the pool.  The project is set to create four full-time equivalent jobs as a result.

Paddy Crerar of North British Hotels Trust said: "We appreciate there is a long way to go before the first swim but the drive and enthusiasm shown by the Mull and Iona community towards getting the project off the ground has been nothing short of phenomenal."

Further funding for the community pool is coming from Argyll and Bute Council with a grant worth £100,000; other trusts have donated £55,500 and local fundraising has exceeded £85,000.

A key element of the project will be the availability of funding from the National Lottery Sports fund with the outcome of an application expected in March.

There are few sporting and recreational facilities on Mull or Iona and this development will mean that for the first time, local schoolchildren will be able to have swimming lessons on the island.

Duncan Swinbanks, chairperson of MICE said: "The project, proposed by AIE, the council, North British Hotels Trust and the community is a wonderful solution to 20 years of effort to bring swimming to Mull and Iona."

Chief executive of AIE, Ken Abernethy said: "Investment in community assets is one of AIE's key objectives.  This is an imaginative solution to what has been a long-term problem.  It enables the community to achieve its aspiration and a hotel to improve its facilities and this will help make the two islands a more attractive place to live, work and visit."