Surprise! Consultants find Chewton Pool ‘not serviceable’

Council has been through a process of sharing information with the community about a proposal to develop a new indoor aquatic centre and close the Chewton, Harcourt and Castlemaine pools. A key part of the information sharing process was the distribution of a brochure outlining the proposal to all households in the Shire with the Shire News Council Newsletter in March this year.

Council was pleased with the level of interest in the proposal. Council received 426 written responses in feedback forms, letters and submissions. Workshops were held with a group a high school students, providers of health services in the Shire and the Castlemaine Swimming Club. Seven “drop in” style information sessions were held around the Shire and were attended by 190 people. The sessions in Harcourt and Chewton were more formal meetings as large numbers of people arrived at the same time.

The community information sessions and workshops were opportunities to discuss the indoor centre proposal in detail with interested members of the community and receive feedback. Responses to the proposal in the workshops was overwhelmingly positive. Opportunities for the provision of year round recreation, rehab and therapy in the Shire was seen to provide a range of health and social benefits to the community.

Of the written responses, 181 supported the proposal and there were 245 responses opposed to the proposal. A number of respondents believe a decision to proceed with an indoor aquatic centre is overdue and that a year-round facility would benefit the whole community, and not just those able to access outdoor pools for the limited time they are open each season.

A significant amount of the negative feedback about the proposal related to the proposed closure of existing outdoor pools. The next most frequent reasons cited for opposing the development came from respondents concerned about the operational and capital cost of a new facility, the site at Western Reserve, that closing pools would mean more people would swim in unsupervised places like dams, inadequate public transport from townships, the loss of open space in Castlemaine and the carbon footprint of a new indoor Centre. Petitions opposing the closure of the Chewton pool and the Harcourt pool have also been received by Council.

The feedback has given Council a clear picture of the issues of concern to the community and this will inform the next steps that Council is taking in the decision making process.

Council has also been undertaking more detailed assessments of the Chewton and the Harcourt pools to determine the cost to maintain the pools for the long term, that is, for the next 25 years.

An assessment of the 50-year-old Chewton Pool prepared by Aquatic Engineering Consultants has established that the condition of the concrete and the amount and quality of reinforcing, means that the structure will not remain serviceable for the next 10-25 years. The advanced deterioration of the concrete, particularly around the scum gutters and the limited amount of reinforcing in the walls of the pool means repairs or rehabilitation works on this structure are not recommended. The consultants’ recommendation is to rebuild rather than spend money on repairs that are likely to fail. The cost to rebuild the pool, plant and amenities is in the order of $1.88million and $2.3million.

An assessment of the Harcourt Pool reveals that the concrete and reinforcing of the main pool tank is better than expected providing a solid base upon which to undertake repairs or relining. Repairs such as pressure injecting could sustain the facility for up to 10 years, but this cannot be guaranteed. A longer term repair (25 years) to the main pool tank would involve the installation of a Myrtha liner within the existing structure or the construction of a new concrete shell. The cost of the options range from $880,000 to at an estimated $2.2million.

Reports on the Castlemaine, Newstead and the Maldon pools are being finalised. When all of the reports are complete they will be received by Council in a formal meeting and be made publicly available.

The reports on the condition of the Harcourt and the Chewton Pools are now available on the Council’s website in the Major Projects section at www.mountalexander.vic.gov.au