Regional aquatics announcement – 15 September 2020
Today Council has taken decisive action on the future of the region’s aquatic facilities and made the difficult decision to permanently close the Nuriootpa War Memorial Swimming Pool in April 2021, at the end of the 2020-21 swimming season.
This decision recognises the pool is at the end of its life, the continued challenges of its location in a flood zone and the original recommendations arising from the development of indoor aquatic facilities at the Rex.
Council understands the Nuriootpa Pool is a much-loved community asset and this decision will be seen as regrettable by many in the community.
However, the estimated minimum $1.6M expenditure to bring the pool to current standards, ongoing investment to keep the pool functional over each summer swim season, together with high levels of ratepayer subsidy per visit, have made it financially unsustainable. Financial assessment can be found in our Draft Aquatics Strategy refer from p314.
The pool will be decommissioned, with the open space converted to a public park that recognises its community status as a war memorial. Importantly, our community will be encouraged to provide feedback to Council on how they would like to see this space used in the future.
What’s next?
Council is also now looking to the future of aquatics in the Barossa as part of the ongoing Big Project program of investment, and we want the community to join us. We will begin exploring alternative options for aquatic facilities, such as a zero depth splash zone at Tolley Reserve in Nuriootpa.
We’ll be using the coming season as an opportunity to draw on community feedback, along with the findings from research already set out in our draft Aquatic Strategy around the more recent trends in aquatic facilities to meet the changing needs of our community.
We will also explore new opportunities to increase usage and generate new revenue streams at the Williamstown Pool.
We thank the community for its loyal support of the Nuriootpa Pool. As this next phase of investigation continues, we will keep users, stakeholders and broader community informed across all our platforms including our website, and local media.
