Golborne dad earning £85k-a-year renting out home swimming pool

Steve Crum was struggling with the expensive upkeep costs of his large Victorian family home which came with a pool.

The 65-year-old looked into replacing it with an Airbnb, but when he was quoted £20,000 for the work, he decided to advertise the pool on a local Facebook group.

As increasing numbers of people began using the Park Road pool in Golborne, Steve grew the idea into the 'Swim at 55' private members swimming facility and demand has "skyrocketed" over the past two years.

Many of those who use the private pool have special needs, and although planning permission was submitted to alleviate the growing demand, Wigan Council refused the application due to the proposed  "harm" it would cause the area.

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Speaking about the pool, Steve, who previously worked in IT, said: "It was maybe used to be used once a week before. It cost £500 to heat a month. It was wasted.

"Three years ago, we had an old house with no one in it. It was very expensive to run.

"I thought 'hang on, we have a swimming pool, what about renting the pool out?'.

“I didn't have any expectations. The swimming pool is busy from 8am to 9pm. It's our main income. It's a joy to see people coming and going."

Steve thought about replacing it with two more bedrooms so he could Airbnb part of the house.

Instead, he decided to make use of what he had and put an advert on his local Facebook group to open up his pool in August 2021, charging £25 for a private, 90-minute, one-person session, and £56 for a group of eight.

The pool in Warrington. Picture: SWNS

In the first few years, Steve made £40,000 to £50,000 but he now makes £85,000 a year.

He said it is ‘unbelievable’, and that he finds people come to his pool who cannot or do not want to go to a public pool for body conscious reasons.

Steve also has lots of special needs groups who are able to swim in the private environment.

Steve's sons Nick, aged 39 and a film producer, and Dave Crum, aged 37 and a financial adviser, launched Swimple – an app to help others do the same last year.

They now have six active pools listed.

Nick said: "It's very rewarding for many reasons. It's a different swimming experience.

Nick Crum, Dave Crum and Steve Crum went into business together. Picture: SWNS

"Everyone gets to have a little bit of luxury. It's usually something you only get on holiday.

"There is less and less access to swimming. We're trying to combat that."

Steve also commented: "When I started, I just thought about the money. I had no idea what lovely people you get.

"It's really rewarding. People get so much out of the swimming pool. We want to get more people swimming and get more access to pools around the UK.

"Pools are cost sucking. They have a tendency to de-value properties."