Leisure centre working to make gallery safe
Visitors were able to access an unsafe swimming pool viewpoint for a further two days after the leisure centre operators were told to close it by the council, writes Sam Petherick. The gallery at Bath Sports and Leisure Centre was closed on Sunday after extensive online lobbying by Widcombe resident Caroline Ambrose. Two days before that the operators GLL used tape and plastic barriers to block the gap and issued a closure notice. “As a precautionary measure we have closed the front row seating area of the pool viewing gallery,” the note read, “.... we politely request that no member of the public attempt to access the bottom row of seating and associated walkway”. However, a day before that, Bath and North East Somerset Council had been in touch with GLL about the “important issue” of the gap from the first-floor gallery to the pool floor. “We can confirm that the balcony area has been fully closed off to the public,” a B&NES Council spokesman said. “A suitable safety solution is being looked at by leisure centre operators GLL, the architect and the building contractor, with support from the council’s building control and health and safety teams. “Until this is rectified the balcony will remain closed to the public. “The council is committed to ensuring people remain safe. “We were informed of this safety issue on Friday 10 August and immediately advised GLL to take action to close off the affected area to the public as a temporary measure until a permanent safety solution could be identified, approved and put in place. “We have been informed by GLL of their actions to secure the balcony area. “We are grateful to the member of the public for raising this important issue with GLL and the council and we share their concern to ensure public safety.” Mrs Ambrose used Twitter to highlight a “serious safety problem”. She said the barrier exposed a gap more than twice the size it should be. According to government guidance, a 100mm sphere should not be able to pass through any openings in order to protect children from falling. However, Mrs Ambrose, a mum-of-two, measured the gap along the length of the pool side at 230mm. “It’s a long, hard drop from here,” she wrote. The partial closure notice put up over the weekend did not go far enough, Mrs Ambrose said. “Some red and white tape has been tied along the length of the gallery and some plastic barriers placed in front of about half of the gap but this is definitely not going to prevent a baby or toddler falling through!,” she emailed general manager Barnaby Rich. “Surely this area needs to be locked until it is safe?” Mr Rich thanked Mrs Ambrose for highlighting the issue. He replied saying: “We have sought guidance from both the contractors who have carried out the facility refurbishment works and also the architects who carried out the design specifications. “This risk was not picked up on inspection by building control prior to opening the new facilities and we are now looking into a solution that will make this area safe for public access.”