Gungahlin Leisure Centre’s indoor pools to be closed over winter

Ongoing maintenance work at the Gungahlin Leisure Centre in the ACT will see both of the facility’s indoor pools closed over the winter months.

Defects and faults to the facility’s 50-metre pool that have plagued swimmers in Canberra’s northern suburbs heading since March of last year, will see it, and the adjoining 25 metre pool closed from 16th May - with the smaller program pool closing this month for maintenance.

The ACT Government said routine maintenance work on the program pool was due at the end of 2022 but to reduce peak season disruption at the Centre; it would close from 16th May so works could take place over winter.

A statement from the ACT Government said tiling on the 50 metre pool was almost complete but the rest of this work would have to wait until the program pool maintenance was done, on the advice of engineering consultants.

A government spokesperson said it was aiming for completion in August but it would have a clearer understanding of this date once the maintenance on the 25 metre pool’s balance tank is completed in about eight to 10 weeks.

The final phases of work on the trouble-plagued 50-metre pool included installing the tiling system and then applying a waterproof membrane, which will reportedly need to cure for three weeks before the pool is filled.

Filling the pool would then take about four weeks as it requires to be filled and then heated gradually to manage thermal changes to the pool tiling and structure.

In January, the ACT Government said the reopening of the 50-metre pool, tentatively scheduled for the end of the summer, would be delayed again until mid-2022 due to the impacts of COVID-19 restrictions on resourcing for the project.

It has been nearly two years since the pool closed when leaks were discovered during regular maintenance. The repair bill so far is $1.75 million.

Hydrostatic testing of the pool shell - filling the pool with water and letting it sit to test for - was completed over the Christmas holiday period and the results allowed tiling work to begin.

Another delay plus the closing of the 25-metre pool, which young families use and where Learn to Swim and fitness classes are held, is a further blow to the Gungahlin community.

The $28.7 million facility is only eight years old but the main pool has hardly been used in recent years.

Management has advised that all aquatic memberships, Learn to Swim enrolments and family memberships will automatically be suspended for the closure period and these customers will not be charged.

The ACT Government has not revealed the costs to the taxpayer citing commercial confidentiality.

Images: Gungahlin Leisure Centre. Credit: ACT Government.