Community consultation open for seaside swimming pool

A long-awaited multimillion-dollar seaside project may progress as early as next year if residents vote in favour of it.

Seaside residents will be given the opportunity to have their say on whether they want a long-awaited seaside pool at Hallett Cove.

For the next two weeks, The City of Marion will listen to any and all ideas about the proposed salt water pool after opening a public survey.

Marion Mayor Kris Hanna said the council must have something tangible before continuing with the project.

Hallett Cove outdoor pool potential areas. Pic: City of Marion

“This preliminary consultation is to get the material so we can get a design which will broadly match community expectation and then we have something tangible to show the community, upper levels of government and we can see if it will proceed,” Mr Hanna said.

The council and the former State Government collaborated to commission a feasibility study in 2019 which ruled out a ‘sea pool’ structure.

This was due to the topography of the cove but the suggestion for a seawater-filled outdoor pool extending above the waterline could be explored and might form part of a protective structure to protect the area from coastal erosion.

“A lot of people love the dream of a sea pool as they imagine a tidal pool. It’s not going to be that,” Mr Hanna said.

“The proposal is for a salt water pool but there will be a wall between the pool and the ocean, in the event that storms would bring in sand, animals and debris leaving it unworkable.”

Marion Council Mayor Kris Hanna said the proposal will be revisited at the beginning of 2023 once the survey is completed.

The pool – which would be located at Heron Way Reserve – would be just the second of its kind in South Australia and the first in metropolitan Adelaide.

South Australia’s only mainland sea pool is located at Edithburgh on the Yorke Peninsula and was built in the 1930s. There is another at Kingscote on Kangaroo Island.

When the idea for the pool was first raised in 2018, more than 4500 people signed a petition calling for the idea to be investigated.

The City of Marion Council received $35,000 towards for the project to explore environmental sustainability, physical positioning, pool design/layout, access and design.

Leader of the Opposition David Speirs has been backing the project from it’s first day.

“As the local MP, I am incredibly interested by this project, it would certainly transform Hallett Cove in a very positive way and turn it into a unique destination but I also want to be assured that it could be done in an environmentally sensitive way,” he said.

The consultation is open until 5pm Monday 15 August 15.