Ōtūmoetai Pool saved: Tauranga City Council commits $5.71m for upgrades

The Ōtūmoetai Pool will stay open and be upgraded. Photo / Bay of Plenty Times

The Ōtūmoetai Pool, an “amazing community asset” that was slated for closure, will stay open and be upgraded.

The decision was made at Tauranga City Council Annual Plan deliberations on Tuesday.

The council voted to keep the pool open and invest $5.71m between 2027 and 2033 for maintenance and upgrades.

The plantroom and filtration system would be upgraded and pool entry ramps added to increase accessibility.

In 2023, the commission governing the council decided to decommission the Ōtūmoetai Pool in 2027 once the new Memorial Park Aquatic Centre was open.

Reasons for closing the pool were its age at 57 years, geotechnical issues, and the “unsustainable” cost to keep it operating.

The community opposed the closure and the Save The Ōtūmoetai Pool - Project STOP campaign was launched.

The council set up a working group in April 2024 with people from Ōtūmoetai College, Evolution Aquatics, community representatives and an independent aquatic facilities expert.

The group recommended keeping and upgrading the pool.

Speaking at Tuesday’s meeting, working group member Matthew King said Tauranga was coastal, so water safety was “hugely important”.

The Ōtūmoetai catchment had more than 5800 students and the pool was needed for those children to learn to swim, he said.

Ōtūmoetai Pool working group member Matthew King. Photo / David Hall

“It’s an important skill for our kids to have.”

King, an Ōtūmoetai College board member, said he was aware the pool ran at a deficit.

“The social, cultural and environmental wellbeing of our kids supersedes any economic cost.

“Some services need to be provided regardless of the cost.”

Ōtūmoetai Pool working group member Amanda Lowry. Photo / David Hall

Fellow working group member Amanda Lowry said she broke her neck 12 years ago and when she came back to Tauranga there were no council facilities where she could swim.

“Water is just something that the minute you get in it, your body is free, you’re safe. For me, there’s no wheelchairs.”

Lowry fundraised $8000 for the Ōtūmoetai Pool hoist. In 2022 upgrades added an accessible toilet and change facility.

“The place is set up to be an amazing community asset. I just don’t want to see that go.”

Suzie Edmonds, who started Project STOP, said the community appreciated the effort of the working group and others who “stood strong” to save the pool.

“This was a collective effort, driven by a single powerful goal, and that was to save the Ōtūmoetai Pool.”

An artist's impression of the Memorial Park Aquatic Centre in Tauranga. Image / Tauranga City Council

Council spaces and places strategic planning and partnerships manager Ross Hudson said if the council kept the Ōtūmoetai Pool, the Memorial Park Aquatic Centre would cater for 15 - 20 years of growth.

The council put plans for the $105m aquatic centre on hold late last year to look at other design options.

Site investigations for the existing Memorial Pool site would be available in early August, Hudson’s report to the council said.

If the results were favourable, the new Memorial Park Aquatic Centre could be located on the current pool site and the Queen Elizabeth Youth Centre could stay open for 15 years, the report said.

Councillor Hautapu Baker said one of the lessons for the council was to “cast the net far and wide” for consultation because some groups did not receive information about the Memorial Park Aquatic Centre.

Ōtūmoetai ward councillor Glen Crowther. Photo / David Hall

Councillor Glen Crowther was involved in trying to save the Ōtūmoetai Pool before being elected last year.

He said things got off to a “bad start”, but the council turned a corner after engaging with the working group.

“It’s been a really positive turnaround.

“I’m supportive of the investment into Ōtūmoetai, I think that’s essential.”

The council also gave in-principle support for the proposal to expand the Mount Maunganui College Pool to 50m.

It approved the development of an Aquatics Network Plan for Tauranga.

The Annual Plan deliberations would wrap up on Thursday.

- LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.