Work is scheduled to start behind the scenes at Graham Condon in September, and the pool hall will close from early January to approximately mid-April 2024.
The gym and sports halls will remain open throughout this time.
The city council’s head of recreation, sport and events Nigel Cox said the pellet boiler water heating system will be replaced with electric heat pumps, and the water filtration system will also be replaced.
“This work will improve energy efficiency and water quality, while ensuring that the heating and filtering systems continue to function optimally long-term. We’ll also perform general maintenance work, as part of our planned, regular maintenance schedule of our city-wide recreation centres,” said Cox.
“While the work won’t make the pool hall look significantly different, it is essential for maintaining the facility to a high standard and helping to prevent unscheduled shutdowns.”
Several considerations were factored into the timing of the closure.
“We have scheduled this work to happen over the summer, when our outdoor summer pools are open so they are available for the community to use, in addition to the indoor pools at Jellie Park, Pioneer,
Taiora QEII, and Te Pou Toetoe Linwood Pool.
“This timing also means that some of our staff at Graham Condon can be redeployed to the outdoor pools, and our school groups are only affected for term one,” Cox said.
“Our team has facilitated bookings for schools at alternative centres and kept all customers informed about what’s happening and the options available to them.”
Contractors will begin initial preparation work in September, while the pools remain open.
To provide access for contractors and construction offices, car parking will be reduced.
“We’ll ensure customers have priority access to the car parks closest to the entrance,” Cox said.
“We want to thank everyone affected by this disruption for your patience and understanding."
Member information
• Customers with a pool or gym-and-pool membership or pool multi-visit pass can use any of the city council-owned pool facilities.
• Members can also request to freeze their membership during the closure if they prefer.
• Gym-and-pool members can downgrade to a gym only membership, provided they have been a member for over four weeks.
• Swimsmart customers have the option of taking lessons at an alternative pool or freezing their Swimsmart membership.
