COUNCIL CHIEFS will meet next month to discuss how much money is needed to cover the cost of essential repairs to Dunoon swimming pool.
The news comes after confirmation the Riverside Leisure Centre could close temporarily for works. Councillors will discuss how much is to be set aside for the repair works at their next budget meeting in a few weeks time.
The health suite facility at the Riverside Leisure Centre has been closed to the public for almost a year. The steam room, jacuzzi and sauna were shut back in March for an estimated three months as a comprehensive refurbishment was planned. But when work was due to begin ‘unforeseen building fabric issues’ were detected and the refurbishment was halted.
The building, which is owned by the local authority and run by charitable trust liveArgyll, underwent a full inspection by specialist engineers and their report was submitted to Argyll and Bute Council at the end of last year. Council officers have been mulling over options since receiving the data and now it seems a strategy is in place for the facility.
A spokesperson for Argyll and Bute Council explained: “Together with liveArgyll, (the charity trust which runs the leisure centre), we continue to invest in the Riverside and are upgrading the sauna and health suite to bring more modern facilities to the town. During these works, we identified unforeseen building fabric issues. This resulted in us having to pause work to enable specialist engineers to inspect these issues and assess what impact they could have on the plans. Following engagement with specialists we are planning repair works that we expect will take six to eight weeks. We will liaise with liveArgyll and the contractor during this time to minimise disruption to the public. Funding for the repairs will go to the council’s budget meeting in February and we will provide customers with an update when we are in a position to do so.”
The issue of the extended closure of the health suite at the pool was brought up at this month’s Dunoon Community Council meeting at the Queen’s Hall on Monday January 6.
During an update from the Argyll and Bute Council section of the meeting, convener Gill Robertson quizzed joint depute leader of the local authority Ross Moreland as to the current status of the health suite and if it would be re-opening any time soon.
She asked: “There seems to be a problem with the jacuzzi and the flume at the pool in that neither of them are working. Do we know what’s happening here?”
Councillor Moreland answered by explaining that a new health suite was due to be installed at the Riverside Leisure Centre, (the cost of which was to be split between liveArgyll and Argyll and Bute Council), but ‘structural issues’ were discovered.
He said: ‘The new health suite was literally sitting in a van which has now been fitted in the Aqualibrium pool in Campbeltown. So our loss was their gain. There’s tough decisions to be made but sometimes when you make tough decisions good things happen as well.”
Community councillor Lindsey McPhail then asked: “Is the future of Dunoon swimming pool quite secure?” To which councillor Moreland replied: “The future of a swimming pool in Dunoon is quite secure, yes.” His emphasis of the word ‘a’ provoked a response of confusion from community councillors prompting one to react: “Make of that what you will Lyndsey.”
Community councillor McPhail then stated that she had heard rumours that the swimming pool was closing. “It may temporarily close for works but it wouldn’t be anything long term,” replied councillor Moreland.
A decision on how much money the council will need to spend on repairs at the Riverside Leisure Centre and if it will need to close for works to be carried out, is expected to be made in the coming weeks.
