The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Leisure pool reopens after £210,000 facelift
Makeover includes new flumes with lights and music and improvements to its cafe
Perth Leisure Pool has reopened after a £210,000 facelift.
The week-long refurbishment has resulted in updated flumes – now with added lights and music – as well as a swipe entry system and a makeover of the café.
The sauna cabin has been replaced and new flooring has been laid in the Monkey Jungle area.
Visitors will also notice new parking charges and entry/exit barrier controls – introduced in an effort to clamp down on city centre workers using the car park for free.
Centre users will have to pay 20p for up to two hours or 40p for a maximum of four, rising to £6 for up to six and £10 for up to 12.
Self-service cashless kiosks, designed to speed up booking, will also be put in place over the coming weeks.
The improvements follow a £40,000 gym upgrade earlier this year. Centre bosses Live Active Leisure (LAL) said initial feedback had been “excellent”, with the flumes in particular proving to be “a big hit”.
The board of the ambitious £25 million PH20 project, which could bring new swimming pools and an upgraded ice rink to the pool/Dewars Centre site, has still to reveal its long-term plans.
However, Debbie Scott, operations manager at the pool, said it was important the 29-year-old venue, which attracts 400,000 users a year, continued to play its part in the Perth economy in the meantime.
“When the pool opened in 1988, it became a flagship example of how sports and activity centres could cross over into the visitor attraction arena, playing their part in attracting day visitors to the area,” she said.
“However, it is an expensive and demanding building to operate and while we continue to pursue our vision for PH2O, it became apparent a number of maintenance works had become essential in order to ensure the continued safe and reliable operation of the venue.
“It is also hugely important to us that the venue remains attractive to customers and provides a great experience each and every time they visit. These recent works will ensure we continue to do exactly that.”
It is also hugely important to us that the venue remains attractive to customers. DEBBIE SCOTT