Bushy Park Pool stays shut for a third summer

THE Bushy Park War Memorial Swimming Pool will remain locked and empty for a third summer while the Derwent Valley Council investigates the costs and planning issues associated with reopening the pool after its long closure.

The pool was initially closed for one summer (2023-24) due to anticipated safety risks while the Department of State Growth replaced the bridge across the Styx River, adjacent to the pool. It eventuated that construction did not start that summer, requiring the pool to remain closed through the following year (2024-25).

Council management says the pool requires extensive upgrading at a cost of about $150,000 before it can be used again, and as a result it cannot be opened for the coming 2025-26 season. Councillors accepted this reasoning at tonight’s (Thursday) council meeting.

General manager Ron Sanderson said a public meeting would be held at the Glenora District School on Saturday, October 11, at 3pm, to address the issues of concern and receive feedback from the community. In response to a question from Councillor Wayne Shoobridge, Mr Sanderson said detailed costings would be provided at that meeting.

Addressing the meeting prior to putting the matter to a vote, mayor Michelle Dracoulis said the council was not de deciding on the future of the pool tonight, “just noting that we’ve been informed that the pool will not be able to open this season because of works that need doing.”

Opening the debate, Cr Shoobridge said he was disappointed that the pool would not open this year but he was pleased to know that the public would be advised of the costs, not estimates, involved in reopening the pool at the public meeting on October 11. “It will give everybody an idea of how much money has to be spent,” he said.

Cr Philip Bingley expressed concerns that council management had not informed councillors of their concerns about the pool until the point where it was too late to open the facility this year. “I find the situation that we’re in here with the pool extremely disappointing,” Cr Bingley said. “The report points out deficiencies at the pool which need to be addressed prior to the pool opening to the public. Given the pool has been closed for two summers because of the bridge construction, management had plenty of time to inspect and identify issues.

“This report should have been provided to council no later than March this year. If it had been provided by March this year, we could have actually put an allocation in the 2025-26 budget to address the issues, to try and get that pool over the line to be opened this summer. I’m very disappointed that management left it to the death knell to put up a report. I feel like, as a councillor, I’m between a rock and a hard place. The next allocation that we can make is next year, by July next year. So, there’s just no way that there’s a budget to be able to put towards rectifying the essential issues that need to be addressed to open this pool,” Cr Bingley said.

“As a council, we’ve let this community down. We should have been far more proactive. Management should have been far proactive and provided these reports to us, as I said, back no later than March this year – even the year before, we could have had this report and we could have done something about it. To go onto a third summer without the pool is incredibly disappointing. The bridge is done. The pool should be open,” he said.

Cr Matt Hill agreed that the situation was extremely disappointing. “I think councillors heard how disappointed I was at the last council meeting. I am not in favour of permanently closing the pool [and] I’m not in favour of redeveloping that site. It is of great community value and historic value. It is against the findings of the ‘Healthy Together’ community workshops, where it identifies the need and support for community pools, not just in New Norfolk but also Bushy Park,” he said.

Cr Justin Derksen acknowledged members of the Bushy Park community in the public gallery. He said even though there was no water in the pool, it remained a war memorial and Anzac Day services continued to be held there. He encouraged members of the community to seek support from parliamentarians for the pool and noted that the state budget was still a work in progress, due to be handed down in November. He urged those who had organised a petition in support of the pool to present it to the council.

Closing the debate, Cr Wayne Shoobridge thanked those who had made comment around the table. “I’m taking everything that’s been said on board. Two things that have been touched on is, (A) the time that it’s taken to come before this particular forum, and (B) it is a war memorial. Bushy Park War Memorial Pool is dedicated as a war memorial pool and in that case, we should do everything in our abilities to find a way to get this place open no later than next season if we can do it. I don’t know whether that can be done, but it won’t happen this summer. Let’s go for next season and have the thing open. It’s just common sense.”

Mayor Michelle Dracoulis said she had spoken with a member for Lyons, Guy Barnett MHA, who said a request for funding could be made under next year’s recreation grants.

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