Coburg North residents demand ‘iconic’ Coburg North Olympic Pool be open year-round, calling for upgrades
A community in Melbourne’s north is rallying to keep an “iconic” 50m pool open year-round, with residents calling for urgent upgrades.
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A community in Melbourne’s north is rallying to keep an “iconic” 50m pool open year-round, with locals calling for urgent upgrades.
The residents believe the Coburg North Olympic Pool, which only operates in the summer, should be heated and open throughout the year to better serve the community’s needs.
Coburg resident Effie Nicholas said it was a “shame” the 50m pool was not being used to its full potential.
“The Olympic pool is quite iconic. I remember coming here as a kid and have very fond memories. It’s a great huge space (but) it’s only open for a few months of the year,” she said.
“The outdoor pool is not heated so it’s also quite uncomfortable. The temperature has to be over 40C to enjoy being in there. It’s quite cold.”
Ms Nicholas said the community pool would be “better used” if the outdoor pool was heated and kept open throughout the year.
“If this space got developed and could be open for longer periods, the community would flock here,” she said.
“I live a five-minute walk from the pool, but I travel 20 minutes to go elsewhere because this facility is not open.”
Ms Nicholas said Merri-bek council “could and should be doing more” to upgrade the 50m pool, which was serving as a “missed opportunity” right now.
Coburg North resident Kate O’Connor said the pool was crucial because it served a population with less financial resources.
“We live in an area with a lot of community housing. That means it’s an area with people not necessarily having airconditioning or have access to cars to drive,” she said.
“It’s also an area that gets incredibly hot because we have low shade cover. We don’t have the kind of leafy green streets like in the east. So the pool is an incredibly important community resource with climate change.”
Ms O’Connor said the Coburg North area was hot for more than four months of the year when the pool was open.
“It is unacceptable we have no access to a space to come together as a community and cool down,” she said.
“The council puts their resources into the parts of Merri-bek where people are far more resourced than we are in this community.
“Council could be doing much more to prioritise this and ensure our community is safe in hot weather.”
Friends of Coburg North Olympic Pool spokeswoman Cate Hall said the pool was a “much-loved public asset” that was “greatly under-utilised”.
Ms Hall said the latest Coburg North Sports Hub public consultation listed the pool as a sporting facility but it only acted like a recreational pool because the 50m pool was not heated and did not function year-round.
Merri-bek chief executive Cathy Henderson said it was common for outdoor pools to operate on a seasonal basis.
“Coburg Olympic Swimming Pool is much loved and highly valued as a great place to cool off and do laps when the temperature soars,” she said.
“The pool is part of a network of six aquatic facilities the council offers in Merri-bek … the council’s adopted Aquatic and Leisure Strategy supports maintaining the Coburg Olympic Pool to serve the needs of the local community safely.”
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