Swimmers' patience running out on Broadmeadows pool
Laura Banks
05May08
Swimmer Ashlea wants to know when Broadmeadows pool will be reopened.
BROADMEADOWS Swimming Club is losing members because of the continuing closure of the suburb's outdoor pool.
The club's remaining members are being forced to travel outside Hume to swim.
Ashlea, 11, a member for five years, has written to Leader demanding answers from the council.
"We have been swimming at other pools and are starting to get annoyed at the council," Ashlea said. "We want answers and we want them now."
The Roxburgh Homestead grade 6 student said she, like other swimming club members, had been forced to travel to Oak Park and Fawkner to attend weekly practice sessions.
"It makes me annoyed because we are a family club and we are losing members because we have to travel to swim, she said.
"We were told last year that they were repairing the pool and carrying out a survey at the start of the year to let us know what was going on but we still don't know anything."
Council city communities director Mike Webb said the council was still bound by Stage 3a water restrictions and could not fill the pool.
"However Hume City Council has recently been advised that we have received funding from the State Government's Department of Sport and Recreation to carry out a Broadmeadows Aquatic Study," Mr Webb said.
"This study will examine all aquatic opportunities in the Broadmeadows area and provide recommendations for council to consider.
Mr Webb said it was anticipated the study would be carried out from next month to September.
He said the study would seek input from the local community about the long-term provision of aquatics in the region.
The 45-year old pool closed last January after council conceded it might have passed its use-by-date.
It had been losing between 20,000 and 30,000 litres of water a day in leaks, backwash and evaporation.
We welcome your comments on this story. Comments are submitted for possible publication on the condition that they may be edited. Please provide your full name. We also require a working email address - not for publication, but for verification. The location field is optional. Read our publication guidelines.
