Winter closing of two Q.E. II pools likely

Press, 7 May 1980, Page 6

Winter closing of two Q.E. II pools likely

Two swimming pools at Queen- Elizabeth II Park will probably close for three months this winter because of poor patronage and high running costs. The Christchurch City Council’s parks and recreation' committee said yesterday that the Canterbury centre of the Amateur Swimming Association would be consulted before a final decision on closing was made later this month. But : councillors leaned; heavily in favour of closing; the main pool- and diving; well from the end of the May; school holidays to the start! of the August holidays. That would leave the 33.3 ml training pool and the para-, plegic pool open. The latter l can also be used by mothers! with pre-school children. ' It is still not certain whether the training pool could remain open the first year.' during construction work!! that will isolate it, and itsh heating requirements, from, the other pools. A double-glazed wall will; be built, and the $25,000 job ' could take about 10 weeks, j The Town Clerk (Mr J. H.: Gray)'-said he was not con-’ vinced that the training pool] would have to close this! winter while the wall was' built.. I During a normal winter, without that job’s cost taken:' into account, the savings! 1 from closing two pools could ( approach- $BO,OOO. That in-, 1 eludes a possible revenue loss;! of $15,180. i, The swimming associ-i' ation’s Canterbury president; J (Mr W. N. MacGregor) said,{« “We; will have to try to talk ■{ them, out of it.” ' He had heard rumours of!' the closing. It would affect \ the centre’s winter pro- ’ gramme, especially long- . course racing which needed { the 50m main pool. The centre had planned on!' a winter carnival every fort-j; night at the Queen Elizabeth!! II Park pool, alternating with' the smaller Wharenui indoor, 1 pool.' Mr MacGregor said the)! closing .would be a pity. i*. Swimming charges had been! rising, and perhaps had kept;; some people from using the:; pools. )'. “It would be a big help ifi we could keep the training-, pool open,” he said. 1 Regular swimming, diving. e water polo and synchronised i swimming would be affected ; by the winter closing. ! Last financial year, thei, Queen Elizabeth II Park pools p showed a $330,750 deficit, a']

: large part of the park’s over-. I all $550,370 cash deficit. : The parks and recreation) : committee’s chairman (Cr P.| i N. G. Blaxall) said that pro-; motions had not prompted , many more swimmers to use . the pools during the winter. Although indoor swimming , was popular in Europe, “wei . have been unable to change , the generally accepted idea ! in Christchurch that indoor , swimming is a summer ' sport.” .! Energy costs had risen 'alarmingly, he said. Without I the closing, fuel oil would {cost $101,050 for the park { this year, a 20 per cent rise. I Much of that was “the huge I cost of heating the air with | fuel oil in a hall big enough : to have a zeppelin in it,” Mr- ! Gray said. . ; Sealing off the training; ’pool would save some of that) cost. ; Actual spending at Queen) !Elizabeth JI Park was about) ’sloo,ooo below last year’s! : estimate, and this year’s pro-j . posed spending for the entire!

j complex was up only about 11.74 per cent on last year’s actual spending. I The Mayor of Christchurch {(Mr Hamish Hay) said that that saving was “quite an achievement” for council officers, but more had to be done. 1 The park’s operating deficit is offset each year by a transfer from Municipal Electricity Department funds, so savings at the pools would not directly affect ratepayers. Cr Blaxall said it was “difficult to justify subsidising swimmers almost five times from public funds no matter what source the funds come from.” But Cr R. Lester said he was concerned that this was the first time pool users would hear about the probable closing of the pool. They had not been allowed the courtesy of commenting first. Last year, the council! briefly considered closing the pools during June and July as a fuel-saving measure after the Government had re-

, fused to exempt the pools from its requirement for a 20 per cent cut in the use of heating oil. When that requirement was lifted later, the pools remained open. The public would be able to use the training pool this winter, but priority would be given to training swimmers. The Centennial Pool’s indoor pool, in the city centre, would remain open. Cr Lester said tlie council had to “do more than just inform the users” of the Queen Elizabeth II Park pools. “They are entitled to be consulted, and their ideas made available to others,” he said. Cr Noala Massey said she could not possibly agree to a three-month closing. Here was no chance of making the pools pay and increasing their use when they were closed. Cr Blaxall said encouragement of more use had been tried, with little success; he put forward the proposal to close “with great reluctance.”