Entry fees rise at Newcastle swimming pools

Newcastle City Council has raised entry fees to the city's swimming pools by between 20 and 25%.

As a result single admission to the city's Mayfield, Wallsend, Stockton and Beresfield pools now costs $4.60, compared with $3.70 last summer.

Entry at Newcastle's major aquatic facility, the Lambton Swimming Centre, has risen from $3.90 last year to $4.80 while a season pass at Lambton increased by more than $100 - from $471 to $575.

Council Place Management Services Manager Deb Alterator said the council's subsidy for pool visits remained the same, and increases to entrance fees were simply covering those higher costs including increased water and electricity charges.

The Newcastle Herald reported earlier this year that the Council is set to lose $34 million subsidising the pools over the next 10 years if declining attendances and growing financial losses were not addressed.

The Council is losing around $1.5 million a year on its five pools, and now plans to spend more than $30 million upgrading them over the next decade.

The major part of the Council's long-term aquatic facilities management plan, is the to build a regional aquatic centre on the Lambton site.

21st April 2011 - NEWCASTLE TO UPGRADE LAMBTON SWIMMING CENTRE