Group submits on pool's future

Fun times were had at the Wanganui East pool last year. Photo/file

The action group battling to save the Wanganui East pool is pinning its initial hopes on its submission to the Wanganui District Council.

That submission is asking the council to give it some wriggle room so the community can properly assess all the options to either retain the pool or at least find a viable alternative. The action group was formed out of a public meeting last month which was called to discuss the pool's future.

It was at that meeting that Mayor Annette Main told the audience that the council would do what they wanted, as long as they were prepared to wear the cost.

Independent assessments said the pool was at the end of its life and that a new pool would cost an estimated $2.5 million.

Deanna McKay, convenor of the action group, said supporters had their first meeting a fortnight ago and included representatives from the Wanganui East Pool Trust, district council and members of the public.

Ms McKay said discussion focused on the the state of the pool and what influence that would have with the community group's push to keep it operating, in the foreseeable future at least.

"We've put in a submission which essentially asks council to keep the pool open until we've explored the options. And that would mean at least for the coming season so we can gather up some viable alternatives."

Other proposals include reframing the constitution of the pool trust to give that some strength, as well as renaming the pool.

"We think renaming the pool is very important because this isn't just a pool for Wanganui East.

"It's a pool for our community as a whole," she said.

But Ms McKay said the key to the group having any success was to rally community support. She said the action group was looking at keeping the pool open for two to three years.

"The next big step for us will be finding out from council what it thinks of our submission and where we go from there.

"But we're hoping that the community does get involved to show council we're not just asking them to keep it open without our support," she said.