Calls for new swimming pool in Preston making waves

WITH summer days just visible on Melbourne’s chilly horizon, Preston locals are ramping up calls for an Olympic size outdoor swimming pool.

CALLS to bring back an outdoor pool to Preston are riding a wave of support in the community.

Leader Facebook readers say more outdoor swimming pools are needed in Darebin to save families from travelling outside the municipality to seek relief over summer.

Darebin has two public pools while neighbouring Moreland has four including at Oak Park, which is undergoing a $27.3 million redevelopment.

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Daniel Gloag, who has launched a petition, said Preston was an ideal site for an Olympic size outdoor pool, open all year round.

“Despite skyrocketing populations and slowly rising temperatures there are no plans to build new public swimming pools in Darebin,” he said.

“There are only a handful of public pools in the inner/outer north and they are stretched to capacity.”

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Mr Gloag said the Reservoir Leisure Centre outdoor pool was too small and overcrowded and the Northcote Aquatic and Recreation Centre (NARC) was often closed to the public due to school carnivals.

He said Darebin had several public pools including at Fairfield, Alphington and Preston before they shutdown.

The former Preston pool on St Georges Rd, now the car park of NMIT, was closed in the late 1980s.

From front left Jacqui Gevaux, 11, mum and aquatics co-ordinator Katrina Gevaux and Nick Gevaux 10 with other swimmers at Northcote Aquatic and Recreation Centre.

Resident Julia Sale said an outdoor pool at Preston was a “great idea” because Northcote was always full to the brim with lessons and squad swimming.

Resident Lina Messina, who regularly used the old Preston pool as a teenager, said the existing pools should be upgraded before any more were built.

“Preston I agree we need one based on our population growth but we need to fix what we have first,” she said.

Darebin Council community general manager Cathy Henderson said a Darebin major regional leisure facilities study conducted in 2013-14 didn’t recommend additional aquatic facilities in Preston.

“Council is investigating options to redevelop NARC and the Reservoir Leisure Centre in future years and these two projects will be high priority,” she said.