Melbourne's Bayside City Council considers warm water pool locations

Bayside City Councillors will consider the north-east corner of Brighton Golf Course as a preferred site for a 'public warm water pool' at its December meeting this week.

A report to the Council outlines the exploration of seven sites across Bayside, including Thomas Street in Hampton, and identifies the north-east corner of the Brighton Golf Course next to the car park as the best for access and protection of the local and residential environment. The public golf course would remain a par-67 with the careful realignment of two holes.

The Council’s endorsement of a location will be an important milestone for this project, which an independent feasibility study confirmed would likely receive high usage from Bayside’s proportionally older population and those with a disability or injury.

The Council, in metropolitan Melbourne, advises that "the proposed warm water pool would cater for all ages, thanks to a moveable floor in the main pool to facilitate children’s swimming lessons, while a second fixed-depth clinical pool enable aquatic programming and therapeutic activities to run at the same time. To ensure access and inclusion for all, changerooms would be included for those with complex or high needs."

Rehabilitation and rejuvenation
Leisure Management Services, the current lessee at Brighton Golf Course, has also presented a proposal to Council to independently fund, develop and operate a Wellness Centre in the north-eastern corner of the course to compliment the warm water pool.

This proposed facility would include hot springs and plunge pools, as well as a sauna, spa, snow room and reflexology walk through the natural environment.

Community engagement on this significant project, as well as the Wellness Centre proposal, is expected to commence in February 2022.

Images: Outdoor swimmer (top, credit: Zoggs) and the proposed location of the warm water pool adjacent to exisiting car park at Brighton Golf Course (below).