24 Mar 2017

Council swimming pools are winding down for the season after a busy summer with thousands more visitors than last year.

Cooler autumn weather has arrived and Waltham, Te Hapua (Halswell), Lyttelton and Jellie Park ’s outdoor pools will close on Sunday. Templeton Pool has already closed. 

The outdoor pools were popular over the summer with visitor numbers more than 13,000 higher than the 2015-2016 season between mid-November and the end of February. 

A busy summer's day at Waltham Pool.

A busy summer's day at Waltham Pool.

There were 37,657 visitors recorded at Te Hapua (Halswell) pool, its second season since the pool was redeveloped. The numbers for last summer were 31,453 people, giving an increase of about 6200.

At Waltham Pool, now in its third summer since redevelopment, there were 37,232 swimmers compared to last summer’s 30,001, a rise of 7231.

At the Norman Kirk Memorial Pool in Lyttelton there were 7517 instead of the expected 8885, a drop of 1368. The introduction of a trial where locals can apply for a season key pass has made the recording of exact numbers difficult.

However, the local community has benefited from a longer summer season which is the main goal of the new system.

Templeton Pool attracted 9883 visitors compared to last year’s 8917.

The overall increase of participation on last year's total was 13,033 across the four pools.

Numbers are not included for Jellie Park because the entry fee allows for swimming in the outdoor and indoor pools. 

Council Operations Leader Rob Gibbs says the higher numbers are great to see. "This summer we held more organised pool parties, and the decision to make opening hours consistent across all outdoor pools has made for a more enjoyable experience."

"Nice weather helps, but the pools are also more established now and people know that they're there, and they're open."

Paddling pools in local parks close on Sunday April 2. Before they opened for the summer, improvements were made at many of these facilities, with the complete rebuild of the Avebury paddling pool, and the installation of new non-slip paint and new marine-themed murals on the bottoms of paddling pools at Abberley Park, Avebury Park, Edgar MacIntosh, Spencer Park and Woodham Park. Shade sails were installed at the popular Botanic Gardens paddling pool.