Spa owners forced to fence pools

By WAYNE THOMPSON

A test case involving former Auckland mayor Christine Fletcher has sparked councils into ordering that spa pools must be fenced.

The former Epsom MP and her husband, Angus, argued that having a lockable cover over the wooden hot tub on the deck of their new Coromandel beach-house was a good alternative to the safety fence demanded by the Thames Coromandel District Council.

But in a ruling which could affect thousands of spa pool owners the Building Industry Authority backed the council.

The case has brought a swift reaction from the country's biggest councils, which administer fencing around pools.

Auckland and North Shore city councils immediately said they would no longer approve locking spa pool covers as safety barriers. Both councils said spa pools that were not in a building or enclosure would be required to fully comply with the Fencing of Swimming Pools Act 1987.

Auckland City's new rule would apply to building consents for spa pools received from November 11 and North Shore City said its rule applied from October 30.

Spa pool cover manufacturer Geoff Bonham said the authority ruling was outrageous and would hit the pockets of the 5000 people who bought spa pools each year.

Mr Bonham, of Leisuretime Spa and Pool Covers, said no preschooler had drowned in a spa with a lockable lid since the industry made them standard for new spa pools in 1995.

The Thames Coromandel District Council services manager, Max Griffiths, said the law was for child safety and the council had never approved lockable lids instead of a fence.

The case to the BIA was whether it should grant a dispensation to the rule.

The Fletchers' pool was partially set into a covered deck that was open to the garden and the beach.

But the authority said that without a safety fence to restrict access, the lockable cover did not comply with the Building Code. It was up to local authorities to decide whether to grant exemptions from the requirements of the Fencing of Swimming Pools Act 1987.

"I am an exasperated citizen," said Mrs Fletcher, who was Auckland mayor for one term from 1998, and previously a National Minister for Local Government.

She felt aggrieved because the plea for a lockable cover included a promise to empty the tub when the family were not home.

"The safety of little children is uppermost in my mind.

"Our 3-year-old niece comes here."

Mrs Fletcher said the rules were inconsistent with other areas.

A lockable cover was allowed on the spa of the Fletchers' former holiday home at Langs Beach in Northland.

She went along with the suggestion to let the authority determine the issue, having recalled pool-fencing inconsistencies during her time as mayor.

Eleven preschoolers have drowned in spa pools since 1987, says Water Safety New Zealand project manager Brendon Ward.

He said the pool fencing rules were designed so there was no human intervention required to secure a pool. Covers required someone to put them on.