'Clearly demand there': push to keep Lambton pool open all year

The city's most popular inland pool closes for the season at the end of May and reopens in late August.

But freediver Ellen Leggett wants that to change, and has started a change.org petition calling for Lambton pool to be kept open over winter, which has attracted more than 400 signatures.

A City of Newcastle spokesperson said the only time the pool was closed was during winter "when user numbers dramatically fall off due to the very low temperature of the water".

"During this period our staff undertake essential maintenance which means we don't have to close the pool for servicing during the swimming season," the spokesperson said.

"There are a number of year-round facilities in the nearby area including the Forum at the university and a number of privately owned pools. Each can be booked by members of the public."

However Ms Leggett said year-round facilities like the Forum and Charlestown pool did not have the capacity to meet demand created by pool goers displaced from their regular training locations.

"Charlestown had to turn people away last year," Ms Leggett said.

"I was one of those people and it happened numerous weeks in a row where they said 'we don't have room for you'.

"There's increased demand as well. The Herald did an article recently that said that pool attendance in Newcastle was up 33 per cent in the last 12 months, which is amazing, it's great to see.

"So I'm asking if they can keep the other pools closed as normal, but consider keeping Lambton open those additional three months to support the community because there's clearly demand there."

Ms Leggett, who runs a freediving training business and may seek to use Lambton pool for courses during the existing seasonal times, said the ocean baths were not suitable for freedive training.

"I'm not too fussy with water temperature because I wear wetsuits, but obviously there's the temperature difference in that they're totally not regulated for temperature at all, whereas the pools have the blankets and the solar heating," she said.

"But more importantly the lanes at the baths are not to a proper swimming standard, so they don't have any lane markings on the bottom of the pool to indicate when the walls are coming up.

"You are at greater risk of head injury, which means they're not suitable for freediving.

"Additionally the lane sizes are not standard... as opposed to a standard lane in a pool which can have swimmers on the right and left hand side and you can accommodate upwards of four swimmers per lane."

Ms Leggett said Orange Aquatic Centre was a year-round outdoor facility and it served a smaller population than Lambton and the average temperature in Orange was also lower than Newcastle.

"There's been an increase in uptake of aquatic activities which are really great for people's physical and mental well-being, and particularly over winter when physical activity and mental health see a notable decline in the Australian population," she said.

"There's so many great reasons to keep it open and even speaking to the staff, they're keen to support it. They don't have reliable work and they essentially get laid off when the pools close or have to find alternative work."

All of the city's public pools are managed by Bluefit. The Office of Local Government said it approved City of Newcastle's application to lease the pools to Bluefit for seven years, with two possible seven year extensions, and that the decision was communicated to the council in April.

City of Newcastle was required to seek ministerial approval as the Local Government Act does not allow a council to award a lease longer than five years without the minister's consent if there has been a submission objecting to the proposal.

It is understood the proposal to lease the pools to Bluefit attracted 13 objections when it was advertised in July 2023.

BlueFit was granted a 12-month extension of its previous lease while the council waited for the minister's decision.

The council said it was "still confirming the management and operation of its inland pools for the upcoming season".

BlueFit's tender included the construction of a $10 million, 25-metre indoor pool at Lambton.

City of Newcastle said the council's inland pools strategy included construction of a year-round aquatic facility at Lambton.

"The possibility of freediving will be considered when we engage with the community regarding the design of a fully enclosed pool at Lambton towards the end of this year," the spokesperson said.

However Ms Leggett would like to see year-round facilities in the short-term.

"I think any investment in the public facility at Lambton will be a great asset for the community and I would endorse any improvements that they're hoping to make," she said.

"But we would prefer to see changes now to create accessibility to the existing resource rather than banking on a change that represents a much greater financial commitment from BlueFit and the council.

"What we're asking of them is deliberately something that's really achievable."

Bluefit was contacted for comment.