Inland diving centre and swimming lake near Bristol closes permanently

"It has always been a great pleasure to see you enjoying the site and we will miss you all"

A scuba diving centre near Bristol has announced it is shutting down permanently.

The owners of Cromhall Diving Centre in South Gloucestershire said they have been informed the quarry it is located in "will close with immediate effect and will not re-open".

The centre, which has been run by Simon Chen and Maggie Alger for 14 years ago, had 9.5 acres of water and a maximum depth of 17m, as well as a slope that allowed easy access for entry-level dive trainees and rescue training.

But it will not reopen after lockdown measures are eased due to the closure of the limestone quarry.

In a statement, Simon and Maggie said: "For the quarry and our clients, 2020 has been a bad year with the floods at the start of the year followed by the tragedy of Covid-19 with lockdown preventing access to outdoor facilities.

"Sadly, while we were preparing to re-open, we have received some more bad news.

"We have received formal notice that means that the quarry will close with immediate effect and will not re-open.

"Over the past 14 years, you have been wonderful people to be associated with and it has always been a great pleasure to see you enjoying the site and we will miss you all.

"Please, continue to dive and swim safely wherever you choose and we hope to see you on the surface at some time or another."

They added they are "not aware of any future plans for the facility".

The quarry is home to EU-protected great crested newts and is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) containing a number of fossils, including the Cromhall dinosaur.

A number of underwater attractions had been added to the attraction over the years, including a decommissioned naval gun-turret, aircraft cockpit, a number of small boats and telephone boxes.