A new pool’s construction is being proposed in Exeter, Devon, United Kingdom, but the plan is not being met with open arms by all in the surrounding community. The 8 lane, 25m pool is scheduled to be built on part of a bus station in the city, but opponents of the facility cite overall structural planning, parking costs and lane space as issues that need to be addressed before City Council breaks any ground.
The project, said to cost in the ballpark of £26m ($39 million), is described by Exeter City Swimming Club’s Chairman, Dean Pearce, as a “missed opportunity.” About the proposal to house just 25m lanes and not 50m, Pearce says, “If they [City Council] want it to be a leisure facility then it should have lots of flumes to entice people in – if they want it to be a training pool then it should be 50 metres.
Assessing the plans, Pearce says, “They are trying to make it both, and it won’t work. This is a missed opportunity and I think it will turn out to be a white elephant.”
With the pool only holding 25m lanes, as well as with reduced spectator seating from its current facility, Exeter City Swimming Club says it will be “forced to hold competitions in Plymouth” instead of the new pool. The club says it also will not be able to hold its annual schools’ meeting, which is a major means of attracting young talent to bring on to the club.
Structural concerns are also on the club’s list to address with City Council. Pearce stated, “The first thing I said to them was not to put in large, south-west facing windows. Not only does it make it too hot, but when the sun’s glare hits the pool it makes it impossible to see under the water so they will have to employ extra lifeguards to compensate. They have put in large south-west facing windows and say they will be angled. But the sun will hit the pavement outside and the light will bounce back up and onto the water.”
The club says it tried to address their concerns, only to have City Council reportedly ignore their requests. The City Council leader, Pete Edwards, says that “The pool is going out for public consultation and that is the place for them to put their comments.”
That public consultation indeed took place yesterday and, from the review of social media and post-meeting reports, appears to have gotten rather heated.
Entering the meeting, Exeter City Swimming Club Chairman Dean Drury said that the club wanted to convey to the public that the proposed facility is too expensive a venture for the value that would ultimately be recognized from its construction.
“We believe that this money could be better spent towards a larger pool with facilities for other sports on a site out of the City Centre. We want to highlight that other areas around the country have spent far less on 25m pools. The next most expensive 25m that has been built was £9.9m”, Drury explained to the local press prior to yesterday’s forum.
“We want the public of Exeter to know this fact, as we believe that the vast majority will want to ask the council why they feel the need to spend £16m more on what is essentially just a leisure pool. A pool that is not fit for holding competitions in, no other facilities for different sports and no space for growth or expansion.
“I think that the public will agree with us that we as a City are not getting good value for money and that the council have recognised the need to redevelop the bus station and the need to replace Pyramids and therefore are ‘killing two birds with one stone’ by doing both in one project.”
Drury is also quoted as saying, “without the correct facilities to keep them [successful swimmers] in the city we are losing them to other universities and cities, which is what happened to Liam Tancock. Liam is a proud Exeter man, an ambassador for swimming and sport in general.”
Former world record holder Tancock lists Exeter as his home and he has represented the club in the past. However, the 30-year-old now trains at Loughborough University. Tancock has voiced his hope for a new facility over social media. Below is his tweet from just today:
New SWIMMING POOL in #Exeter I would love to share my passion & knowledge of the sport to help create the best pool for this great city! ?
— Liam Tancock (@LiamTancock) December 10, 2015
For Exeter’s part, the club is trying to get its point across to the Exeter City Council that a full-fledged facility is needed not only for the club, but for swimming as a sport across all levels. In a tweet appearing after the meeting, the Exeter club said that during the public discussion, “The council keep saying we are being elite. It’s a cheap shot. We are an amateur club run by volunteers. Participating in sport is not elite.”
Supporters of a revised plan for the venture, including a 50m competitive pool, are using the hashtag #50m4Exeter to spread the word.
We will continue to monitor the developments of this story.
So, where do I sign the petition against the pool?
Exeter needs a 50 M pool with a facility to adapt it as a 25 m leisure and training pool . Other leisure facilities could be provided as well. Plymouths Life Centre is now internationally recognised. Torbay now realise they lost by not making Clennon Valley a 50 M . I and many other parents of swimmers spent countless hours taking potential national swimmers up to train at Millfield when it was the only 50M pool in the southwest. Tancock and others had to move out of area to become champions .
We built a 50m pool for £26million in Luton!