A pool facility that’s served a Tauranga community for more than 50 years is to be replaced by a new aquatic centre over the other side of town.

The move by council has Otūmoetai College worried it will restrict access to swimming education for its students and wider community.

Commissioners approved $122.25m of funding to develop a new Memorial Park aquatic facility at Tauranga City Council’s December 11 meeting.

The investment comes as a result of Memorial Park’s current pool and Otūmoetai Pool needing to be decommissioned in future.

Bay Venues chief executive Chad Hooker says:

“The Commissioners were clear in their decision that one of the reasons for going with this particular concept design option and making the $122.25m investment was that this brand new aquatic facility at Memorial Park would also eventually be replacing our two ageing facilities, Memorial Pool and Otūmoetai Pool”.

Memorial Park’s new aquatic facility is to open by the end of 2027, says Chad.

“We will do our best to maintain both of these facilities [Memorial Pool and Otūmoetai Pool] and keep them operating until the new aquatic centre at Memorial Park opens, at which point Memorial Pool and Otūmoetai Pool will likely be decommissioned.”

Not supported

However, the decision to decommission Otūmoetai Pool is not supported by Otūmoetai College, which neighbours the pool.

“Decommissioning a pool is not good for the community,” says Otūmoetai College head of physical education Jamie Davis.

He says Otūmoetai Pool is used to deliver water safety programmes to the community’s student population – of Otūmoetai College, Bellevue Primary and Otūmoetai Intermediate – which collectively totals 3500 students.

“Hundreds, if not thousands, of kids over the years have walked from the primary schools, the intermediate and the college to Learn To Swim programmes and things like that, at that pool.”

And with New Zealand’s highest rate of drowning occurring in the 15-24 age bracket, Jamie says the move to remove Otūmoetai’s community pool is deeply concerning – especially for local students.

“Now those kids aren’t going to get that education…they need to experience what it’s like when they’re tired in water before they can actually realise how to keep themselves safe.”

Community asset

Built in 1968, Jamie says Otūmoetai Pool was developed as a community asset between Otūmoetai College trustees and TCC.

Today the pool is run by Council-Controlled Organisation Bay Venues.

As such, Jamie says Otūmoetai College has been in talks with council for more than a decade to save Otūmoetai pool from closing.

“I’ve opposed the closing of this pool since about 2012… there’s been never really any alternative view from council over that period of time, rather than to see it slowly closed.”

His school’s latest formal submission to council emphasises Otūmoetai pool is an essential community resource that’s consistently used by both young and old.

Moreover, the school’s submission highlights most regular users will be challenged to travel to facilities on the other side of the city at Memorial Park – especially at peak traffic hours.

“The pool is well located and we can take a class in and get a class out in time for its next lesson.

"If we travelled 10-15 minutes across town to a pool and 10-15 minutes back, we wouldn’t be able to offer that [water safety programmes] to our students at all,” says Jamie.

“I just don’t see mums and dads getting in the car at 3.30 in the afternoon and trying to get across town.”

Jamie says council’s charter requires providing “quality of life” for the community – and their corner of the community needs facilities that are localised.

An architect’s render of the upgrade to Memorial Park, with the completed news aquatic facility here eventually to lead to decommissioning of the Otūmoetai Pool. Photo: TCC.

Increasing costs

However, Chad says the ongoing and increasing cost to keep both Memorial Pool and Otūmoetai pools open and operating is unsustainable.

“Both pools have significant infrastructural and age-related issues that regularly result in expensive remedial and maintenance measures.”

The school accepts the pool is old and may need investment, yet believes with strategic funding and improvements council could increase aquatic plans of increased lane availability across the city.

 “[There’s] millions and millions of dollars for another pool, but we don’t have a couple of hundred thousand to maintain this one?” asks Jamie.

Chad says Memorial Park’s new aquatic facility will have a deep-water eight-lane 25m indoor swimming pool, a hydrotherapy pool and spa, Learn To Swim pool and a leisure pool with a toddler pool.

Outside will be a four-lane 25m lido pool, splash pad and a bombing pool.

“There will also be three hydroslides, a fitness centre, and a café that services the facility and the park.”

Jamie agrees the development at Memorial Park is a win for the city – but he doesn’t believe in closing one community’s pool to get another one elsewhere.

“That’s not fair to this community.”