Lismore Lake Pool could be revitalised after council votes to offer management of site to the community

One councillor said it looks like a garbage tip, but what will be done to transform the unused pool?

The Lismore Lake Pool is not currently a place you would take a swim. But, is that about to change?

It’s half filled with slimy green water, and hasn’t seen much love for more than a decade, but if you have any “great ideas” on how to transform Lismore Lake Pool from an eyesore into a community treasure, the council wants to hear from you.

The unpopular decision to close the pool was made in 2011 after Lismore City Council decided mounting maintenance costs made it unviable.

The Lismore Lake Pool was closed to the public in 2011.

Following years of debate over what to do with the pool, in October councillors resolved to seek expressions of interest from community groups to take over management of the pool.

At the council meeting this week, Councillor Bill Moorhouse raised the idea of extending the brief to encompass the entire lake precinct.

Cr Moorhouse said he just wanted to see something done with the site that currently “looks like a garbage tip”.

Cr Neil Marks said including the entire lake precinct in the proposal would “put a lot of people off” who might be interested in running the pool complex as it was such a large site to manage.

“We would be setting it up for failure to make it the whole site,” Cr Marks said.

During public access, Big Rob asked councillors to enter a memorandum of understanding with his volunteer group, Lismore Lake Incorporated, to revitalise the precinct at no cost to the council.

He claimed the group had secured a promise of $2 million in funding from the Federal Government previously, that had not been accepted by the council.

He said the group would be successful in securing funding again if the council would enter an agreement with it over management of the site.

He said he would oppose any other group that was awarded the lease for the site.

Cr Marks said the council needed to remain transparent in its processes however, and could not give the management of the site to one group without giving other groups within the community the chance to present their “great ideas”.

The council staff confirmed an EOI document was “ready to go”, that the pool would remain a public space, and there were no plans for it to be sold.

The expression of interest was expected to be advertised shortly, and there was no cost to making a submission.