Council has given the go-ahead to look at a temporary solution for Swim Zone Matamata users who prefer an indoor pool.

Over the next few months, Council will establish a working party of Council and community representatives, to research a range of suitable indoor pool replacement options, designed to last at least 10 years. The working group will use the groundwork already started by a group of pool users/interested parties as the starting point for their research, and aim to present a preferred interim option to Council in 2022.

Even though the heated outdoor pool and dive pool have been operating, the winter months have been quieter than usual, impacting on the Learn to Swim programme and other aqua activities.

Putting an interim solution in place means that the Matamata community could continue to access an indoor pool and swimming lessons all year round, while we take on the longer term challenge of planning for a new or upgraded complex that meets the future needs of the Matamata community.

• Community-Council working party set-up (“the working party”)
• With help from an external facilitator, the working party will develop a business case that considers the medium-term options for an indoor pool facility
• Council will consider the business case and decide on its preferred option. There is an estimated construction budget of $500,000 for this project
• Interim indoor pool facility constructed and operational
• Collaboration with the community to understand what is wanted from a future swimming facility

The removal of the indoor pool roof started on Tuesday 21 September and will take about three weeks to complete. We anticipate there will be minimal disruption to pool users while the work is in progress. Safety measures are in place and include closing the car park off Meura Street while it is used as a work area during the demolition.

The demolition is progressing well and means only the heated outdoor dive pool will need to be closed from 4-8 October, while the large concrete columns are being removed. The main outdoor pool will remain open while this work is happening. The temporary closure of the heated dive pool falls in line with the start of the school holidays and this tends to be a quiet time for us, however, we know this will be disruptive for some of our regulars and we thank them for their patience.

There may be short periods during the three week demolition period where areas of the pool complex need to be shut off, but we will do our best to minimise any disruption.

Once the roof is off the pool will be painted before it is filled and reopened for the summer.

After giving the interior a spruce up, our reception is now at the Meura Street entrance.

Customers have the option of steps or a ramp to gain entry to the heated outdoor pools. With the covered walkway almost complete there is now shelter from the reception area to the outdoor changing rooms and the swimming club rooms. The progress shots below also show the shelter extends out over the barbeque area which will be useful throughout the year.

Progress photos are being regularly updated on Council's Swim Zone project page. To see how the roof demolition is going head to the Gallery at the bottom of the page.

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