BALLARAT City Council has a final chance to save the Wendouree Pool, but the preferred option would still see it closed and decommissioned.
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A proposal to replace the pool with a water play-space was announced following the release of the council’s 2013-14 budget earlier this year.
The pool’s fate could be officially sealed tomorrow, when the council considers a recommendation to close the ageing facility, decommission it and return it to a greenfield site.
But the council also has the option to reject the closing proposal and allocate $2.4 million to its repair and ongoing upkeep.
A report prepared by council officers describes the pool as “an ageing facility that requires significant future investment if it were to remain open”.
“It has declining patronage and costs the ratepayers more per capita than any other pool in the municipality,” officers said.
“The costs of returning the pool to a safe standard are significant.”
Last year, the former Ballarat City Council was considering upgrading the Wendouree and Buninyong pools to be family recreation facilities for north and south Ballarat.
But announcing plans to close the pool in May, councillor John Philips said only 37 people a day on average used the Dowling Street facility over summer, compared to 94 at the Buninyong pool and 363 at Eureka.
The report notes the Wendouree Pool has a long and proud history as the community pool for the suburb and was a popular summer ‘hang out’ in the 1980s and 1990s.
But introduction of the Ballarat Aquatic and Lifestyle Centre (BALC) and changes to the demographic population and aquatic trends had significantly reduced the need for the existing Wendouree Pool, officers said.
In its draft budget, the council has allocated $17 million for a new indoor 50-metre pool, Eureka Pool upgrades and two aquatic play-spaces, one at BALC.
Community consultation will be held to determine what the water play-space should include and where it should be placed.
If the current Wendouree Pool site is not chosen, the land could be sold.
rachel.afflick@fairfaxmedia.com.au