Work set to start on saltwater hot pools
Work will start on New Brighton’s $11.2 million hot saltwater pools next month after the project secured the necessary resource consents.
The long-awaited pool complex, which will be operated by Christchurch City Council, is expected to open in late 2019 after commissioner Ken Lawn granted a resource consent for the project yesterday. Consents have also been approved for the coastal works by Environment Canterbury.
The complex will sit on 1900 square metres of land at 195 Marine Parade, between the new playground and the existing sea side car park, at the site of the old whale pool.
Five hot saltwater pools will range in temperature from 40 degrees Celsius to 28C for the fitness pool and a small circular plunge pool will be 12C. The pools will be split into four zones including passive therapeutic, fitness, family passive and family active zones. There will be two buildings either side of the pools housing changing rooms, the steam room and sauna, toilets, a plant room and cafe.
Coastal Burwood Community Board chairwoman Kim Money said the community had been waiting for years to have hot pools and would be excited to hear work would soon begin.
It was hoped the pools would provide a much-needed boost to New Brighton.
New Brighton Business and Landowners Association manager Paul Lonsdale said the hot pools would help entice more visitors and investors to the area, but they would not be a ‘‘silver bullet’’ and fix all of New Brighton’s problems.
‘‘The hot pools signify that the city is investing in New Brighton and that will have a flow-on effect.’’
The facility, funded by the city council, is being developed by Development Christchurch Ltd (DCL) as part of a $19.2m wider regeneration project for New Brighton.
DCL chief executive Rob Hall said DCL was now in a position to move forward on the project.
The old toilet block and playground would be removed before Christmas to enable the main works to start in early 2019, once building consents had been obtained.
DCL would tender the main building works before Christmas with an intention to have a contractor ready to start as soon as practical after building consent was obtained.
The pools would operate seven days a week between 9am and 9.30pm and were expected to attract 195,000 visitors a year.
In August, Hall said the pools would run at a loss, like the council’s other pools, but would generate a ‘‘pretty reasonable’’ revenue.
‘‘To run them at a profit you would be excluding part of the local community and that is not what this is about. This is a community that has been hard hit and we’re providing them with an amenity.’’
Commissioner Ken Lawn decided not to publicly notify the resource consent application and instead allowed the owners of four properties opposite the site to submit their views on the proposal. The owners/occupiers of three of those properties wrote letters approving the development.
Lawn said the hot pools would provide substantial positive effects for New Brighton.