Users of the city's most popular public inland pool say they don't want talk of a new indoor aquatic centre to allow existing pools to slide further into disrepair.
City of Newcastle has been made aware of issues at Lambton Park War Memorial Swimming Centre, including concrete cancer causing a closure of the grandstand, broken windows, cracked tiles, outdated amenities and a lack of disability access.
Paint and concrete have also chipped off the diving tower, while Hunter United Diving Academy sourced a state government grant for an upgrade to the pool's spring boards after a lack of council action.
"The condition of the facility is terrible," Hunter United Diving Academy president Eric Brooker said.
A Facebook group, We Love Lambton Pool, was set up in September after growing user concerns about pool maintenance. It has attracted more than 470 members.
Regular pool user Anna Glasby said the community had been concerned for some time about how the pool was being looked after.
"Yes they replaced the waterslide and that's great but the pool needs a really significant plan and investment in maintenance and rejuvenation," she said.
"It was evident there were issues with the concrete in the grandstand a decade ago. There have been attempts to patch it up and now we've gotten to the point that the grandstand has had to close."
Council said it had procured temporary grandstands while replacement works were undertaken, with the cost to be confirmed. The temporary stands are scheduled to be in place by mid-January in time for school swimming carnivals.
It comes as the city's Labor councillors moved at last week's meeting to petition the state government and opposition for a year-round aquatic centre.
Ms Glasby and Mr Brooker said while they were supportive of this, council needed to look after its current assets.
"Yes plan for the future, but don't let the pool they have now fall into such disrepair," Ms Glasby said.
Independent councillor John Church backed the calls for a commitment on a new facility, but said it was likely a long way away and meanwhile council "can't drop the ball on our current inland pools and just continue to patch and paint".
Labor councillor Margaret Wood said in the meeting there had been "misinformation" about council's support of the pools, and said those who complain about pool maintenance should "look to the facts".
However when asked about this by the Herald, she said information from pool users had shown there were indeed maintenance issues that needed addressing.
Several councillors met with pool users last week to discuss the problems. Labor councillor Peta Winney-Baartz said she had organised for senior council staff to attend the pool this week to allow "a common understanding about improvements that could be made in the short, medium, and longer term, and to ensure clear lines of communication between pool management and the residents".
A City of Newcastle spokesperson said council last surveyed the community about their satisfaction with aquatic services a year ago.
"The survey found that our aquatic facilities are the top-rated category of our 42 services/facilities. A separate community survey two years earlier found that three quarters of the community were either 'very satisfied' or 'satisfied' with the level of service received at our pools, including customer service and maintenance/cleanliness," the spokesperson said.
Council is working on a pool strategy, which "includes a critical review of its inland pool assets focusing on asset condition and potential investment required for each pool". It is expected to be "workshopped" with councillors next year.
Council has also applied to subdivide the pool and Lambton Park into separate lots, which it insists is an "administrative change" that won't impact existing services but will allow for separate grant applications.
"CN [council] can confirm that both the proposed Lots 1 and 2 will remain Crown Land which is owned by the state government and managed by CN," City of Newcastle interim executive director corporate services David Clarke said. "Because they are classified as community land they cannot be sold under the Local Government Act."
WHAT DO YOU THINK? We've made it a whole lot easier for you to have your say. Our new comment platform requires only one log-in to access articles and to join the discussion on the Newcastle Herald website. Find out how to register so you can enjoy civil, friendly and engaging discussions. Sign up for a subscription here.
