North Bellarine Aquatic Centre: Council vote unanimously to keep pool open until at least May

People power has won the day with Geelong council voting to keep open the North Bellarine Aquatic Centre in Drysdale at a cost to ratepayers of well over $1500 a day.

Councillors will vote on Tuesday if the North Bellarine Aquatic Centre will remain open this winter. Picture: Alan Barber

People power has won the day with Geelong council voting to keep open the North Bellarine Aquatic Centre in Drysdale at a cost to ratepayers of well over $1500 a day.

Councillors voted unanimously in favour of an “urgent business item” put forward by Mayor Trent Sullivan, whose Bellarine ward takes in the facility that only opened in November, at their monthly meeting on Tuesday night.

Mr Sullivan’s move followed a petition to keep the 50m heated outdoor pool open that had gathered around 2800 signatures.

In the weeks leading up to its opening, council flagged that it would close the facility from April through to October because of the squeeze on its finances.

Council has now guaranteed the facility will remain open until at least the end of May, with a report to be brought back to council that identifies opportunities to enable the facility to remain open all year.

The extension to May will see City Hall reallocate $96,000 from its 2023/2024 operating budget to cover staff wages and fixed costs such as utilities, equating to $1574 a day.

Since opening, the facility has averaged a touch over 1500 visitors per week.

“To have a facility open in November last year, and to possibly close in its honeymoon year, is unfathomable by many,” Mr Sullivan said at the meeting.

Fellow Bellarine ward councillor Jim Mason said the City of Greater Geelong was under severe financial pressure so it would need to find creative ways of managing the extended opening because of the “extremely high costs”.

“I support the motion, but I know we will have some difficult decisions in the future,” he said.

Eddy Kontelj said all council-run pools should be open year round.

“It’s a no-brainer,” he said.

“I think we should continue to work really hard to try and have all of the pools within Geelong opened every day of the year.”

Regular pool user Louise Skeen organised the petition and said council’s about-face was a “fantastic outcome”.

“We just need to keep on the ball with the council and hopefully they will continue to update us where we are at, but they have certainly promised to keep it open year round and keep it a priority in their budget,” she said.

The federal government provided $10m funding for the pool, while City Hall contributed $5.5m.

The federal and state governments have each committed $20m to a second-stage expansion that would feature a range of indoor facilities, including pools, a gym and spa, but construction appears a long way off.

Corangamite MP Libby Coker said the decision to keep it open was a “good result” for the community.

“I’m pleased the council has responded to our communities on the North Bellarine and listened to my call to keep the outdoor pool open longer,” she said.

Her predecessor Sarah Henderson, who secured the federal funding during her 2019 election battle with Ms Coker, said “people power matters”.

EARLIER: Geelong council to decide if pool stays open in ‘urgent’ vote

Geelong mayor Trent Sullivan is set to introduce a motion to keep a Drysdale pool open year-round at Tuesday’s council meeting, amid community backlash at its imminent closure.

The much anticipated $15m North Bellarine Aquatic Centre opened in November last year, however its use is set to be cut short each year.
The 50m outdoor pool, which is heated, is set to be off limits from April through to October due to financial constraints.

Geelong mayor Trent Sullivan. Picture: Alan Barber

Mr Sullivan, within whose ward the pool sits, said he planned to introduce a motion on Tuesday night, asking councillors to consider keeping the pool open throughout 2024.

“Having investigated a number of options, including attendance numbers and financial impacts, my urgent business item will recommend that the facility can remain open between April 2024 and October 2024 inclusive,” Mr Sullivan said.

“Council will have an opportunity to scrutinise the figures and rationale before making a decision.”

The move comes after a petition to keep the pool open garnered 2100 signatures before it was submitted to council. Since then, hundreds more signatures have been added.

A Geelong Advertiser poll found 75 per cent of respondents believed the pool should be kept open in winter.

Louise Skeen, the petition’s organiser and a regular user of the pool, said Mr Sullivan’s announcement was “certainly a step in the right direction” and she was hoping the vote will support the motion.

Louise and Chris Skeen launched a petition to keep the facility open year-round. Picture: David Smith

“It’s taken an enormous amount of time and work to get it to this stage,” she said.

Ms Skeen said she’d like to thank councillor Elise Wilkinson for her “tremendous effort” in listening to and supporting community concerns about the pool’s closure.

“This will certainly make the Bellarine community happy,” she said.

The Drysdale pool has been used more than 24,000 times at an average of 1500 visitors a week – and community outrage at the seasonal closure led to a petition being put to council, as well as federal politicians from across the aisle chiming in.

Labor MP for Corangamite Libby Coker wrote to Geelong council chief executive Ali Wastie, dubbing the move to shut the pool as “premature”.

Liberal senator Sarah Henderson said the closure was a “a betrayal of our community”.

Mr Sullivan’s motion comes nine months after a similar community campaign kept the Kardinia Pool open.

The pool in central Geelong was seasonal prior to becoming year-round during the pandemic, however it was announced ahead of the 2023 budget the pool would be closed over winter as a cost-cutting measure.

In June, City Hall reversed its decision and announced it would spend an extra $565,000 to keep the outdoor pool open in winter, following a 3000-signature petition.

Originally published as North Bellarine Aquatic Centre: Council vote unanimously to keep pool open until at least May