Swimming pool strategy

Provision

Strategy one: provision and development of council�s network

Strategy
1A - Provide a network of affordable swimming pools to serve the geographic catchments of Auckland and meet the needs for different water activities
1B - Upgrade existing facilities and develop or support new facilities to sustain this network.

"Evaluation of current provision against the framework"

The following assessment of the current provision against the framework identifies what activities are currently accommodated at the council�s pools and where improvements are required.

Swimming pool	Current activity	Improvements
Cameron pool (Mt Roskill)	Free play (limited), fitness, learning, sport training, sport events (limited), water therapy	Specialist facility for sport events, improved free play
Glen Innes pool	Free play (limited), fitness, learning, sport training, water therapy	Free play
Grey Lynn paddling pool	Free play
Lagoon Leisure and Fitness Centre	Free play (summer only), fitness, learning, sport training, water therapy	Free play (winter)
Newmarket pool	Free play, fitness, learning, water therapy
Onehunga pool	Free play (summer only), fitness, learning (poor), sport training, water therapy	Learning (separate pool)
Parnell Baths	Free play, fitness	Learning, entertainment, water therapy
Philips Aquatic Centre	Entertainment, fitness, learning, sport training, sport events (limited), water therapy	Learning (separate pool)
Pt Erin fun pool	Free play, water therapy	Fitness, learning (winter)
Tepid Baths	Free play, fitness, learning, water therapy

The following non-council facilities complement the council�s network

Swimming pool	Current activity
Sacred Heart Aquatic Centre	Sport events, sport training, learning
Mt Eden pool	Free play, fitness, learning, sport training
Youthtown	Free play, learning, sport training

Actions for provision and development

Actions	Pools	Actioned by	Budget impact	Priority *
Plan an indoor component at Pt Erin pool to provide all-year facilities for the core activities of learning and fitness. Include upgrade of existing facility. Consider timing of development with review of management options	Pt Erin	Council; Operators	$1.35 million in AMP. Extra $2.65 million required. Improve opex	Medium
Investigate and provide a separate teaching pool at Onehunga pool to improve provision of learn-to-swim programmes	Onehunga	Council; Operators	$600,000 capex required	High
Investigate and provide a separate teaching pool at Philips Aquatic to improve provision of learn-to-swim programmes	Philips	Trust Operators	No council funding	High
Develop concept plans for facilities, in consultation with the operator and users, which take account of future development plans to prevent ad-hoc capital works or maintenance	Lagoon Cameron Onehunga Pt Erin Glen Innes	Council; Operators	$10,000 required for each facility. $50,000 total	High -complete over next 2 years
Plan and provide for a new facility in the Avondale area providing opportunities for free play, learning, fitness and water therapy		Council and possible partners	Up to $5 million capex required. $200,000 pa opex required	High
Plan and provide for a new facility in the Otahuhu area as part of the multi-purpose community/recreation and aquatic facility on Mason Avenue		Council	Up to $4 million capex required $200,000 pa opex required	High
Plan for better free play water space at Glen Innes Aquatic Centre to cater for the preferences of the Glen Innes community. Consider indoor and outdoor options	Glen Innes	Council; Operator	Up to $2.6 million capex required	Low
Develop a competition facility to serve the needs of Auckland city sports events, incorporating a 25m pool, spectator seating and administration facilities	Cameron	Council; Partners	Up to $3 million capex required $100,000pa opex required	Low
Purchase an aquatic climbing wall to be used as a mobile water feature around all swimming pools	All	Council	$50,000 capex required	High
Investigate the location and development of an aquatic playground within a park to provide casual opportunities for children�s water play	All	Council	$100,000 capex required.	Medium
Review the reception area of Cameron pool to provide free access to the children�s paddling pool	Cameron	Council; Operators	$300,000 capex required. $20,000 pa opex required	Medium
Investigate the feasibility of covering the 50 metre pool at Lagoon Leisure and Fitness centre to provide additional training space	Lagoon	Council	$15,000 to investigate.	Medium
As part of the Regional Sport and Recreation Strategy contribute to the development of a regional aquatic facility that caters for national sports events with 50m x 25m water space, seating and administration facilities		Council; Other local authorities	$10,000 to contribute to investigation	Medium
Provide for more efficient use of Lagoon Leisure and Fitness centre by extending the indoor facility to connect with the hydroslide and provide a better free play area	Lagoon	Council; Operator	$1.4 million capex required.	Low
Investigate the location and possible partnerships for a specialist rehabilitation facility within Auckland�s network of swimming pools	All	Council; Sport Auckland; ACC	$10,000 to investigate	Low
Investigate the need and demand for a swimming pool within the St Johns / Remuera area through the Hobson and Eastern Suburbs community and recreation needs assessments		Council	Within operational budgets	Low
Provide non-specialised water therapy amenities (spas, saunas, steam-room) at all facilities to cater for water-based therapy	All	Council; Operators	Within development budgets or AMP	On going

Strategy two: physical accessibility

If a swimming pool is to be accessible to the entire community it needs to be well located geographically and usable by people of all abilities. The best site for a swimming pool is one that is clearly visible from a main road but has easy vehicle and pedestrian access. There are some legal requirements for disabled access to facilities. Some cultural groups have specific requirements for swimming pools that need to be understood as Auckland becomes more ethnically diverse.

Strategy
Improve the physical accessibility of swimming pools by meeting legal requirements for access and endeavouring to reduce other physical barriers.

Actions	Pools	Actioned by	Budget impact	Priority
In consultation with the disability awareness forum, undertake access audits at all swimming pools to determine current levels of compliance for physical access and include any improvements within the leisure facilities asset management plan. Endeavour to exceed the basic legal requirements	All	Property; Disability awareness forum; Community planning	$15,000 to undertake audits	High
Highlight and promote each pools� amenities for physical access, eg hoists ramps into pools, family change rooms	All	Operators; Community planning; Marketing	Include within marketing resources	High
Provide ground-level access to the Newmarket pool to improve physical access to the facility	Newmarket	Operator	Council funding	High
Investigate particular cultural requirements for using swimming pools within migrant or ethnic community and recreation research	All	Community planning	Within existing resources	On going
Advocate the provision of public transport routes via swimming pools	All	Community planning; Marketing	Within existing resources	On going
Where possible, provide designated changing rooms designed for people with disabilities, particularly in new facilities	All	Council; Operators	Include within development budgets	As per developments

Strategy three: non-council provision

In total, there are 101 swimming pools in Auckland city with over 80 per cent being small pools at schools. Many schools make their facilities available over the summer period to local residents through the key system. For more than five years, the council has allocated funding to schools in the western area as it was recognised that there were less public swimming pools. This strategy examined whether this initiative could be extended city-wide in a sustainable manner.

There are a growing number of schools in Auckland that would like to develop better swimming facilities. There are concerns about whether schools have the resources and skills to properly manage water treatment and lifeguarding, or have the funding for operating and maintaining the facilities as public facilities.

Strategy
Complement the council�s network by facilitating access to non-council facilities to meet the water space demand, and by supporting facilities that fill gaps in activity needs or in the council�s network.

Actions	Pools	Actioned by	Budget impact	Priority
Pilot the extension of the school pool funding scheme over the summer holidays by enabling access to upto 10 schools that meet the following criteria: located in a gap in the council�s network low-decile school visually prominent to local community meet NZ standards Determine the level of grant required that takes account of the following guidelines for operation: there must be trained lifeguard(s) on site during all opening hours at least one person must undertake water treatment training minimal entry fee minimum opening hours 12pm to 4.30pm	Schools will be identified following discussions with eligible schools	Recreation and community and services; Community planning	New operational budget of approximately $50,000 required (to be confirmed in the Annual Plan)	High
Monitor the participating schools in the pilot school pool funding scheme to ensure compliance with operating guidelines and success in terms of attendance and financial performance	All participating schools	Recreation and community services	Within existing staff resources	High
Raise awareness of the NZ standards for pools and other operating requirements, legal obligations and costs with any partners (schools or other) which the council supports as a public facility	Any partnering school or group	Community planning; Compliance monitoring	Within existing staff resources	High but on going
Investigate partnerships between the council and schools on Waiheke Island and Great Barrier Island possibly including operators and swimming clubs, to provide public access to swimming pools on the Islands in line with the school pool operating guidelines and NZ Standards	Schools will be identified following discussions	Recreation & community services; Community planning	Will require new opex budget. Report through Annual Plan process	Medium
Promote the use of school facilities to accommodate the demand for water sport training by facilitating potential school / club partnerships		Council; Swimming clubs	Within existing staff resources	On going
Ensure that all swimming pools are regularly visited, tested and audited by the council�s swimming pool health inspectors	All pools	Auckland city environment	Within existing staff resources	On going

Strategy four: standards of provision

The national standards for the design of swimming pool facilities and water quality are continually being refined and improved. Most of the council�s facilities are very old and some no longer meet the new standards. There are also growing customer expectations regarding the standards of public swimming pools.

Strategy
Upgrade and/or enhance all swimming pool facilities provided by the council to supply consistent levels of provision and to meet NZ standards.

Actions	Pools	Actioned by	Budget impact	Priority
Through the asset management process, undertake biennial asset assessments and develop capital renewal programmes to upgrade and improve all swimming pools paying special attention to: Toilet and changing rooms Concourses Filtration equipment and plant Ability to meet NZ standards	All	Property; Community planning; Operators	Address in asset management plan	High and on going
Provide sufficient car parking based on each facility�s capacity and provide lighting and observation to improve the safety of users and vehicles	Onehunga Glen Innes	Property	Address in asset management plan	High
Within the Panmure Basin recreation precinct project, review the car parking and vehicular entrances for Lagoon Leisure and Fitness Centre and modify the Cleary Road car parking	Lagoon	Community planning	Address in asset management plan	Medium
Work with the operators of Newmarket pool and Tepid Baths to provide low-cost car parking close to both facilities for users	Newmarket Tepid	Community planning; Operators	None	Medium
When planning for the redevelopment of new or existing facilities include provision for family changing rooms	Glen Innes, Pt Erin, Avondale, Otahuhu, Lagoon	Community planning; Property	Include within redevelopment budgets	As for developments
Upgrade the Onehunga pool changing room to meet user expectations and possibly relocate or rationalise the indoor/outdoor rooms	Onehunga	Community Planning; Property	$300,000 capex required in asset management plan	Medium
Develop designated changing room facilities and toilet for the Grey Lynn paddling pool	Grey Lynn	Council; Operator	$60,000 capex required	Medium
Improve and enhance the landscaping of swimming pools including seating, picnic facilities and plantings	Glen Innes� Lagoon� Cameron	Community planning	SLIPS funding	Medium
For outdoor pools, provide sufficient sun-shade over toddlers� pools and grass areas to offer protection for users from exposure to the sun	Lagoon, Parnell, Pt Erin, Onehunga	Community planning	SLIPS funding	Medium
Work to provide child-care in all facilities to enable parents to participate in activities. Allocate a minimum number of spaces for casual users of the facilities	Tepid Parnell Cameron Philips	Community planning; Operators	Encourage operators to fund	Medium
Provide ancillary amenities such as fitness centres, cafes, and physiotherapy only where there is a demand for that service and the operation subsidises the provision of the core pool activities	All	Community planning; Operators	Encourage operators to fund	On going

Published September 2002