Cooma-Monaro study suggests that indoor pools need a catchment of 50,000 for viability

With Councils in many parts of Australia struggling to meet the costs of maintaining public swimming pools, and others eager to fund new and/or refurbished aquatic centres, a study conducted for Cooma-Monaro Shire Council suggests that aquatic centres that operate on a year-round basis need a catchment of 50,000 people or more to be viable.

Investigating the enclosure of the Cooma Festival Swimming Pool to allow it to operate year round, Council Recreation and Property Manager Ross Lawley found that redeveloping the Pool into one that could open throughout the year would be unfeasible.

As reported in the Cooma-Monaro Express, the Council currently spends more than $215,000 to operate the pool for six months of the year.

Attracting 35,000 visits a year, the Council subsidises each visit by $6.

Lawley's investigation found that, to operate for 12 months the council could be faced with double the costs, plus an additional 40% for extra heating costs.

In a report to the Council's Recreation and Facilities Committee, Lawley highlighted that enclosing the pool was not as simple as filling in the walls of the current facility as the structure of the pool is apparently not designed to be enclosed in an chlorine-rich environment and would need to be rebuilt.

Patronage was also an issue considered, with the Council recalling having extended the Pool's operating season for an extra month a few years ago. The trial was abandoned a week early due to lack of numbers.

The Cooma-Monaro Express also reported that the Council had spoken with executives from contract managers Belgravia Leisure, who, at the time managed the Cooma Pool, about their thoughts on a year-round centre.

Belgravia Leisure considered a year-round centre unfeasible for any town with a catchment of less than 50,000 people.

Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show that the Cooma-Monaro local government area had a population of 10,416 in 2009.

The Cooma Festival Swimming Pool is now managed by the YMCA NSW.