A water wheel could power a community swimming pool into the future.

The trust that runs Wigton Baths says that utilising hydro power will not only help with keeping costs down, but could also become a much-loved feature of the town’s popular Millenium Walk attraction.

The project is just one of several ambitious ideas the trust has included on a wish list of things they hope to achieve in the future.

A feasibility study has already been carried out into how the pool could use renewable energy.

Of the two hydro power methods looked at, the water wheel was considered the best.

It would be placed into the nearby beck which runs past the swimming pool building in Stony Banks.

If the trust decide to pursue the water wheel project, they believe it will cost about £45,000 to buy from a manufacturer in Maryport.

“We recognise that it could be an attractive thing for this part of Wigton,” said the trust’s deputy chairman Mave Tyas.

“The pool is built on the site of an old water mill and this study said there would be enough water to make an impact on our bill.

“Not a huge amount of money, but it’s a help, something for the town and something green. But that will be down to finance.”

Mrs Tyas said the trust could look to enter a competition similar to the one which won them thousands of pounds last year to install solar panels on the roof of the building.

The wish list was drawn up following a meeting of those involved with the baths, local councillors and historians.

Another key idea put forward was to improve access to the baths – a long-standing issue.

“We want to bring the baths nearer to the town by looking to open up the old Hopes auction site [to vehicles].

“We are only 500 yards from the church and town centre but it takes ages to drive around.

“It really is a pedestrian route,” Mrs Tyas added.

There had been an agreement with supermarket giant Tesco that should their planned development of the Hopes site go ahead, a new road through to the baths would be included.

However, Tesco has pulled out of opening a new store in Wigton and the baths lost any immediate hope of a new road.

“We hope that whoever comes into that site will do the same for us,” she continued.

“The case for having that access would be brilliant and we will continue to fight for it.”

Trust leaders are also hoping to highlight more of the building’s heritage.

The baths opened in 1901 when benefactor Edwin Banks donated them to the town and they have enjoyed a rich history ever since.

There’s an exhibition of memorabilia, old photos and medals currently on display in Wigton Library.

But Mave and her team want the building to have a blue plaque so it can be included in the town’s heritage trail.

They’re also looking into the possibility of exposing the building’s original “vaulted ceiling” and having the premises listed.

Another entry on the wish list focuses on building an annex next to the current swimming pool.

This could house a classroom for the variety of courses run there, such as training assessments and lifeguard badges.

Mrs Tyas added: “We don’t have a classroom at the moment and when the diving club members come in to do their theory, they all have to squash into the office.

“If we have a lifeguard course they have to hire a room at the Market Hall for the theory.

“It’s another way of getting income for us and you could even have a cafe in there as well.”

The ideas on the wish list show the huge amount of progress the trust has made since taking over the pool.

The pool was on the verge of closing for good in 2013, when it was shut down by Cumbria County Council after being pinpointed as the possible source of a pollution leak.

Following cuts to local government budgets, it appeared the facility would never reopen.

However, determined townsfolk launched a spirited campaign to save it from permanent closure and set up the Wigton Baths Trust to take it over.

After months of negotiations they officially gained control in March last year – and it welcomed its first customers the following month.

“The staff team have done a great job in generating sufficient income; they have done so well. We have been supported by the likes of Wigton Town Council and Allerdale Council,” Mrs Tyas said.

“Our initial aim when we set up the trust was to retain the baths then develop them for Wigton.

“We have retained them, now we’re at the stage where we’re trying to develop them.”