New direction for pool’s future

Dunedin’s physiotherapy pool has a number of challenges to be overcome before it can be reopened....
Dunedin’s physiotherapy pool has a number of challenges to be overcome before it can be reopened. Photo: Sam Henderson
The recent appointment of a slew of new trustees could act like a new broom sweeping the bone-dry, broken Dunedin physiotherapy pool, which has been empty and nearly abandoned since mechanical failure forced its closure in May 2021.

The Star reporter Sam Henderson uncovers the fresh direction guiding this much-loved facility toward potential reopening.

A mass of resignations and new appointments at the Otago Therapeutic Pool Trust may help reinvigorate reopening efforts.

All but one of the previous trustees have stood down, and the new trustees, led by former Dunedin deputy mayor John Bezett, are aiming to find solutions for reinstatement of the existing pool at its current location.

Mr Bezett said he had been a long-term user of the hydrotherapy pool, using it to help with training, such as competing in Ironman competitions.

"I just used to go in there every morning and swim back and forth, and I’d come out like a cooked lobster. But it was good."

He observed how the facility, heated up to 35⁰C, was effective for a range of rehabilitation, such as post-surgery.

Last year, Mr Bezett expressed dismay at a survey run by the trust which he believed went beyond the trust’s remit.

In his opinion, the survey, which asked for feedback on options from repairing the current pool to creating a new hydrotherapy centre, was slanted towards a new centre.

In October last year, the trust invited Mr Bezett to speak to them.

"I said, you are making a big mistake.

Photo: Sam Henderson
Photo: Sam Henderson
"Why don’t you upgrade the old pool, because it is arguably the best physio pool in the country."

"I didn’t want to get rid of the trust or anything like that, I had no problems with the leadership or anything like that at all, except that they were going down the wrong road."

He spoke to secretary-treasurer Neville Martin, highlighting the deed of trust had the sole purpose of running the pool and, in his opinion, the trust was stepping outside of its jurisdiction by including proposed options such as building a new pool on a different site, Mr Bezett said.

Mr Martin said to Mr Bezett he was planning to retire, and asked him for a list of people who would support Mr Bezett’s vision.

"They invited me to join the trust. And I went along and I said ‘thank you very much for the invitation, but I’m not interested because of the direction you are taking’.

"The sole purpose of my involvement in this is to try and persuade you to go down the track of reinstating the old pool."

Mr Bezett’s words must have struck a chord, because he was later informed all but one of the trustees were resigning in favour of Mr Bezett and his recommended people.

"I just got a ring from one of the trustees to say ‘look, they have all resigned’.

"I was gobsmacked."

The Charities Register shows in October, new trustees comprising Julie Rickman, Ted Daniels, Katrina Bryant and John Bezett were added, and Donna Watson, Mark Shirley, Miriam Barnett, Rei Ishikawa and Simon McMahon were removed.

The only trustee to remain from the previous configuration was Barbara Anderson.

John Bezett. Photo: Sam Henderson
John Bezett. Photo: Sam Henderson
Mr Bezett said a key focus for reopening the pool at its current location was securing at least a 10-year lease from Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora (HNZ).

He and Barbara Anderson had met with HNZ general manager facilities and property David Bainbridge-Zafar, who indicated the pool could be upgraded provided the trust came to it with an appropriate business plan, he said.

HNZ had no funding for it, so the trust would need to raise money for repairs and earthquake upgrades as well as plans for ongoing operational costs.

"I need Health New Zealand to say ‘yes, we will give you a lease’ and then I need a funding organisation to say ‘yes, we will give you the funds’ and then we are under way.

"That might take six months, it might take a year, I don’t know."

He was confident there was strong support for reinstatement of the pool in its current location, Mr Bezett said.

"But as I’ve said to my trustees, until such time as we get the costings for the upgrade of the pool and an indication from our funding associates that they are right with it, then if that’s not going to happen, then the trust will just ride off into the sunset."

Former secretary-treasurer Mr Martin said last year he signalled to the trustees that he would be retiring at the end of that year.

"I’m not one of the trustees, so I can’t speak for them, but as happens every year, there is a reappointment of trustees and those trustees are the ones who are responsible to take the trust to next steps.

"The trustees who did not seek re-nomination had served for quite a number of years and, as I understand it, they had served the trust as best they could and felt it was time for them to let others become involved.

"I’m confident that the new cohort of trustees, including John, will do the right thing for the physio pool."