Shoalhaven Council to charge for Ocean Pool Admissions

Shoalhaven Council is considering charging people wanting to enter two ocean swimming pools which are currently free.

The NSW South Coast council intends to raise entry fees by varying amounts across its 12 pools as part of its Draft Community Strategic Plan.

Under the changes, an adult passholder for the Nowra pool would pay $55 extra and a child $40 more per year.

Bill Patterson, the Council's Director of Services and Operations, says Ulladulla and Huskisson sea pools may also attract a fee, stating "we will be putting a report to council in which we will advise them on how the non-supervised free pools went this year and they will then make a decision as to whether they continue with that next year, I can't pre-empt what council may do."

Patterson says the rise will allow it to extend the swimming season by six weeks, adding "all other pool fees will be rising by varying amounts, generally around about the CPI (Consumer Price Index), it just depends on whether extra services are being offered whether those charges will go up more than or less than CPI."

The NSW South Coast, a long time bastion of free swimming, has seen the Shellharbour Council introduce charges for facilities that were previously free and Wollongong City Council currently considering the introduction of charges.

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