Aquatic Centre boss pledges customer care

Sunderland Aquatic Centre customers have been promised they will be kept informed of any upcoming maintenance work following complaints.

The pledge came complaints were raised about the temperature of the water at the main pool and the removal of the steps used by customers to climb in and out at the Aquatic Centre.

Customers have also complained about issues with the showers not working and the lockers not accepting tokens.

Steve Dougal, General Manager at Sunderland Aquatic Centre, pledged to “offer as much notice as possible” to families who attend the pool before repairs are carried out.

He said: “We have recently reconfigured the layout of our pool slightly, but have continually ensured our members can access steps to get in and out of the pool safely.

“The temperature of the pool is tested six times a day to ensure it is always within the correct range of 28-29°C for the main pool, and within 29-30°C for the dive tank.

“We value feedback from our customers and take utmost care to schedule any necessary maintenance work to our leisure facilities as and when required, offering as much notice as possible to customers ahead of repair works.”

The Aquatic Centre first opened to the public in 2008 at a cost of £20million and is run by Everyone Active on behalf of Sunderland City Council.

The centre is set to be closed for several months at some point this year so that major repair work can be carried out on the roof, leaks had been reported above the area of the pool, and buckets were laid out around the spectator area to catch drips.