Richmond Swimming Pool repairs set to take six months
Council chiefs have been recommended to approve the work as part of a £40m investment in leisure centres
Work to fix Richmond Swimming Pool will take around six months to complete, councillors have been told after users urged council chiefs to approve the £1.1m repairs.
Members of North Yorkshire Council’s Richmond area committee heard on Monday that a decision on whether to press ahead with the work would be taken by senior councillors next month.
Council chiefs have been recommended to approve the work as part of a £40m investment in leisure centres across the county.
A petition containing 3,165 signatures from users of the pool urging the council to reopen the venue was presented to the area committee by seven-year-old Maxwell Simpson.
"keep us healthy and safe"
He told councillors that swimming pools were a place for people to “make new friends, be active, get healthy, and for children to learn how to swim”.
He added: “We know that it costs a lot of money, but it is important to spend our money on things that help people and everyone deserves to be able to learn how to swim.
“The grown-ups making the decisions all had that opportunity and me and my friends need that opportunity, too. It will keep us healthy and safe.”
Several other users spoke in support of the pool and urged the council to keep the facility open.
The pool closed in April just weeks after being taken over by the unitary council when part of the ceiling fell down.
Repairs are also needed to the centre’s plant room.
"quite considerable work"
Jo Ireland, assistant director for culture and leisure, said the recommendation to carry out the work would be discussed a month earlier than initially to ensure work can start as soon as possible.
“Arrangements will then be made for the works to be undertaken and the pool to be reopened.
“The works that are required are quite extensive. Obviously, the ceiling works are the biggest single item.
“That will require quite considerable work, scaffolding and what have you, but there are other works as well which we will be doing at the same time.
“It is also recommended as part of the broader leisure investment strategy that the gym equipment at Liberty, which is quite old, is also replaced.”
The officer said she hoped the work would be completed before next summer.
The area committee meeting agreed to urge the executive to approve the repair work.