Geelong council extends opening hours at Eastern Beach children’s pool

City Hall has bowed to public pressure and extended the opening hours of the children’s pool at Eastern Beach, but has stayed firm on keeping the gates closed when lifeguards aren’t on duty.

Eastern Beach is expected to see 10,000 daily visitors in January. Picture: Mark Wilson.

People power has forced City Hall to wind back a decision to open the popular children’s pool at Eastern Beach for just eight hours a day during summer.

In a statement issued on Tuesday afternoon, City Hall said the pool would open from 9am to 7pm daily from Boxing Day until the end of January.

This extends its opening by two hours after City Hall said on Friday that it would only open from 11am to 7pm.

This prompted a furious response from the public and dismay from some councillors who said they were unaware of the decision until it was reported in the media.

Chief executive Ali Wastie said the extension was in response to public feedback that “showed the people value using the pool in the mornings in peak time early in the New Year”.

Ms Wastie confirmed the gates to the pool would be closed outside supervised hours.

Previously the facility was accessible all hours of the day, including outside supervised hours.

“With growing popularity and usage of the area along with an increase in drownings across the state, we must take reasonable steps to ensure public safety,” she said.

“We recognise that not everyone will agree with the steps that we’ve taken, but these concerning statistics leave us with no choice.

“We ask everyone to be respectful towards our staff who will enforce this decision by locking the pool gates, and who will be supervising the area to make sure everyone can return home safely at the end of the day.”

Mayor Stretch Kontelj, who met with Ms Wastie soon after the decision to slash the pool’s opening hours was announced, said the extension was a win for the community.

Mr Kontelj was caught on the hop by the initial decision, which was not a directive from Lifesaving Victoria.

“Eastern Beach is a beautiful location for families to enjoy, and these extended hours will a big win for families wanting to get down and enjoy a swim during those warm January mornings,” he said.

Locking the gate to the children’s pool outside of supervised hours is among a raft of new safety measures introduced at Eastern Beach, which is anticipated to draw up to 10,000 daily visitors during the summer.

Geelong Mayor Stretch Kontelj arranged an urgent meeting with City Hall chief executive Ali Wastie over the pool's “restrictive” opening hours.

Additional changes include lifeguards overseeing the dive boards to enforce rules, a ban on swimming beneath the boards during diving activities, and the upcoming installation of a public defibrillator and rescue equipment.

It is not the first time City Hall has been forced to backtrack a decision around pool opening hours, with a plan to close Kardinia Pool over winter in 2023 drawing controversy.

Following a petition garnering almost 3000 signatures, councillors voted to spend $565,000 to keep the pool open during winter.

Originally published as Geelong council extends opening hours at Eastern Beach children’s pool