Whanganui East Pool season starts with a whimper

The pool opened for the season on December 18. Photo / NZME

It has been a quiet start to the season at the Whanganui East Pool as summer continues to splutter.

A Whanganui District Council spokesperson said there had been 459 admissions from the opening date of December 18 to January 7.

“So far numbers at the Whanganui East Pool have been lower than usual, likely due to the recent cold weather,” they said.

“The pool has been closed on one occasion due to high winds and rain.”

It is the only public outdoor pool in the city.

The last season ran from December 16, 2023, to March 16, 2024.

There were 2323 admissions in the first two weeks and 10,368 overall.

For 2024/25, the pool is open from 11am to 5pm, Tuesday to Saturday.

It did not open on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day, and from December 30 to January 2.

Intimidating behaviour, physical assaults on staff and vandalism last summer led to more CCTV being installed and extra staff on site but the council spokesperson said there had been no similar incident so far in 2024/25.

Last year, council officers recommended closing the pool because of its age and condition but elected members voted to keep it open for at least one more season.

The pool’s springboard has been removed because of safety concerns, with two fixed diving blocks replacing it.

Council chief executive David Langford will commission an options report to provide a long-term plan for outdoor swimming in Whanganui, which has to be completed as part of the council’s annual plan for 2025/26.

Whanganui’s daytime highs are expected to be between 20C and 22C into next week.

No rain is predicted, with winds coming from the south and southwest.

Mike Tweed is a multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present his focus is local government, primarily the Whanganui District Council.