'Urgent repairs needed' - Market Drayton swimming pool to close due to major leak requiring £230,000 repair
A north Shropshire town's swimming pool is to be closed due to a major leak that is expected to leave Shropshire Council with a hefty £230,000 repair bill.
The swimming pools at Market Drayton Swimming & Fitness Centre will close from next Wednesday (October 15) "until further notice" while the council investigates the cause of a significant leak in the main pool.
According to the council, the principal source of the leak appears to be underground pipework near to the main pool tank. The smaller 'learner pool' will also have to close to allow full access to the pool hall and pool tank surround.
The leak has caused the pool to lose a substantial amount of water, which the authority said cannot continue and must be "urgently" repaired.
Shropshire Council said repair work is expected to cost around £230,000, and will be funded by the council’s capital budget, which cannot be used to pay for the running of day-to-day services.
Councillor James Owen, Shropshire Council’s cabinet member for leisure services, said: "Closing the pools is obviously something we don’t want to do, but the main pool is losing a significant amount of water and this can’t continue. We urgently need to find out why and what we need to do to fix it.
"While we won’t know the exact cost of the repair work until we do further investigations, we are expecting it to be significant. It’s an older pool so there may be more to it than repairing the pipework. We’re hoping that this isn’t the case, however, money will be available to undertake all the necessary work.
"The pool is an important facility to the council, and I can reassure everybody this temporary closure to complete essential work does not mean it will face total closure."
The centre's gym will remain open for members.
Peter Davis, Shropshire Council’s leisure services manager, said: "The centre is an extremely popular facility, receiving hundreds of swim visits from various user groups each week. We are conscious that closing the swimming pools will be inconvenient and our contractors will be working hard to find the root cause, repair and re-open as soon as they can.
"The sooner they start, the sooner we will have an idea how long the pools will be out of action. The gym will remain open during the pool's closure, however, and our operator, Shropshire Community Leisure Trust, will be in contact directly with all members, schools, clubs and users to discuss arrangements."
The council is also working to provide schools with access to other swimming centres, including the new facility in Whitchurch and at the Quarry in Shrewsbury. The new Whitchurch Swimming and Fitness Centre welcomed its first customers in March.
Rhys Collins, Shropshire Community Leisure Trust’s partnership manager, said: "While this repair work is being completed, I would like to reassure our customers that the gym at Market Drayton Swimming & Fitness Centre will remain open. Our gym-floor-based workout programme will also still be available, and we’re looking to expand this popular element of what’s on offer at the centre.
"We are currently working to provide schools with access to other swimming centres, notably at Whitchurch and the Quarry in Shrewsbury, for them to fulfil their statutory swimming requirements. Pool sessions at Whitchurch will also be made available, where possible, to allow the swimming club based at Market Drayton to continue swimming during the closure period.
"We apologise for any inconvenience this temporary swimming pool closure may cause but will ensure our customers and employees are kept updated throughout the process."
