A CLOUD is still hanging over the future of the Glenthompson Outdoor Swimming Pool following a recent Southern Grampians Shire Council (SGSC) meeting with local residents.

Glenthompson resident, Jenny Rankin, said she felt SGSC wanted to make closing the pool an inevitability and not consider options that would honour the local community’s investment in its existence; the pool was originally built from local fundraising and labour efforts.

“Council representatives were willing to listen to ideas for alternatives to the pool, but apparently not to countenance alternative ways to keep it open,” she said.

“Almost without exception, the community members present wanted to keep the pool and gave compelling reasons and opinions.

“Our pool is the youngest public outdoor pool in the shire and seems to be in pretty good shape, despite its 48 years of service - Council is preparing to spend a good deal of money to have the pool structure assessed, an amount that would keep the pool running for at least another two years, yet it seems the pool is likely to close no matter the outcome of that assessment.

“If Council gets its way with the Glenthompson pool, then other communities will be on notice - your pools are older and in poorer condition, and a precedent will have been set for getting rid of all local outdoor pools.”

SGSC chief executive, Tony Doyle, said Council met with the Glenthompson Progress Association and then with the Glenthompson community to work through the findings of an outdoor pool review.

“After the 2022/23 outdoor pool season, Council reviewed visitation numbers, operating costs and the capital investment required over the next five years for the Hamilton, Coleraine, Balmoral, Dunkeld, Penshurst, and Glenthompson pools,” he said.

“The review showed the Glenthompson pool had low usage and was the highest cost to Council per visit of any pool in the shire.

“The review also revealed that Glenthompson pool in particular required a significant financial investment over the next five years for repairs and maintenance.

“The assessment of the pool highlighted that essentially the 50-year-old pool is at the end of its life, and even this capital expenditure over the next five years is only prolonging its life for a relatively short time.

“Council discussed what the return on that investment would be for the community and given low pool usage numbers, talked about other investments Council could make in Glenthompson that would be more widely used by the community and would provide broader benefits.

“Some ideas that have been suggested include walking tracks, improvements to the Lions Park including an upgraded playground or a skate park, exercise equipment and a splash pad.

“No decision has been made on the future of the pool.”

A 2022 Royal Life Saving report reviewing the ageing status of many Australian public aquatic facilities - the average age is 55-years-old - said up to 40 per cent will need to be replaced in the next 10 years at a cost of over $8 billion.

But the report also claimed the failure to renew just 10 per cent of aquatic facilities by the end of this decade would cost the country about $910 million annually.

“Regional and remote communities are most at risk of missing out on updated or new aquatic facilities,” the report said.

“It is also clear from additional Royal Life Saving research that regional and remote communities are at higher risk of drowning in inland waterways and most benefit from access to swimming and water safety programs, made possible by local public swimming pools in most cases.” Discussed at length were the benefits of public pools to water safety, social value, employment and health, acknowledging how in the last 60 years they “have progressed through three phases of focus in design and services, from competition and fitness to fun and leisure, and now wellness and rehabilitation.”