Tauranga councillor optimistic Ōtūmoetai Pool could be saved

Councillor Glen Crowther outside the Ōtūmoetai Pool that he hopes will be saved from closure. Photo / Supplied

The community has “won the battle” to save the Ōtūmoetai Pool from closing, the suburb’s ward councillor Glen Crowther believes.

“Reading between the lines, presumably it will play out this way,” Crowther said.

But there was always a chance the council could make a different decision when the report on the pool was brought to them in June, he said.

In 2023, the commission governing the council decided to decommission the Ōtūmoetai Pool in 2027 once the revamped Memorial Park aquatic centre was open.

Reasons for the pool’s closure 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 Otūmoetai Pool - Project STOP campaign was launched.

Crowther said the information he had since received showed the geotechnical issues were not as serious as first thought.

“As the pool got older, it developed some cracks, but they could shore it up.”

The council would also have to decide what to spend to keep the pool running and whether they wanted to upgrade it, he said.

Crowther believed it was important to keep the pool so the community had somewhere to learn to swim.

“I’d personally like to get a better environment for those littlies learning to [swim], to upgrade it slightly so you can have a warmer section.”

The Ōtūmoetai Pool was built in 1968. Photo / Bay of Plenty Times

There was also the practicality of having the pool close to Ōtūmoetai Intermediate and College.

The principals had told Crowther it would cost too much to transport their 3000 students to the Memorial Park aquatic centre.

“The principals are saying it’s not likely to happen,” said Crowther.

“The schools and the students would benefit immensely from keeping it open.”

Ōtūmoetai did not have other council facilities like a community centre or hall, Crowther said.

“There’s basically nothing much here that is council other than just sort of parks and reserves.

“If you take away our only significant facility … we’re not getting any benefit and we’re losing our one facility we’ve got of any significance.”

An artist's impression of the $105m Memorial Park Aquatic Centre in Tauranga. Image / Tauranga City Council

Keeping the Ōtūmoetai Pool could work out cheaper for ratepayers because the council could use more development contributions for the Memorial Park facility, he said.

Late last year, the council put plans for the $105m Memorial Park aquatic centre revamp on hold to look at other design options.

The $105m plan had included a bombing pool, splash pad, toddler pool, eight indoor swimming lanes and two outdoor lanes.

It would replace the outdoor pool and the QEII Youth Centre at Memorial Park.

Suzie Edmonds started Save The Ōtūmoetai Pool - Project STOP. Photo / David Hall

Suzie Edmonds, who started Project STOP, said she would be ecstatic if the Ōtūmoetai Pool was saved.

“I’m really thrilled that we’ve come to this point. People have done a lot of work to get here.”

There was a public meeting, a working group with the council was formed, and people did leaflet drops to raise awareness.

“A lot of time and effort and energy and fundraising and all those sorts of things have gone into that pool.”

It would be interesting to see how the council voted, but she hoped the pool would be saved.

Mayor Mahé Drysdale said it was too early to say if the Ōtūmoetai Pool had been saved.

Tauranga mayor Mahé Drysdale. Photo / Aleyna Martinez

The council was looking at Tauranga‘s aquatic strategy as well as the network of sports fields and courts, he said.

The city had an infrastructure deficit and most of what the council built was “catch up”, he said.

If the council was delivering new facilities, then growth could pay for more of those through development contributions, he said.

“One of our principles is growth pays for growth.”

Keeping the Ōtūmoetai Pool was one of the options the council was considering that could enable it to use more development contributions toward the Memorial Park aquatic centre, Drysdale said.

The council would look at options for the Ōtūmoetai Pool and Memorial Park aquatic centre at a meeting in June.

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