Survey dives into fate of Thames pool

With the future of aquatic provision for Thames hanging in the balance, the public is now being asked what they think a new pool facility should look like, and where it should be located.
The current Thames Centennial Pool sits on a sacred urupā (burial ground) at Taipari Park and is reaching the end of its useful life.
Thames-Coromandel District Council has already agreed to remove the pool and return the land to Ngāti Maru – but on whether or not it should replace the pool, and if so, with what, it is asking the public’s perspective.
Following a feasibility study that determined the most suitable sites, the council has put forward four options. One includes doing nothing but restoring Taipari Park at a cost of up to $550,000; two include establishing a new local aquatic facility at Thames High School, each with a differing mix of indoor and outdoor pool choices costing between $36m-42m; and a further option includes constructing a new sub-regional aquatic facility with a bigger mix of pools in Kōpū South at an estimated cost of up to $77m.
Back in February, the Thames Community Board heard positives and negatives to both a local and sub-regional facility.
For the local facility, the positives were that it would be accessible within the Thames township, it would build on a successful school/community partnership; it would have a lower operating risk; and would come at a lower project cost.
Its negatives were that it’d be a smaller facility with less appeal, it would have limited to no growth potential, it would have minimal external investment, and it would likely be majority funded by council.
For the sub-regional Kōpū facility, the positives were that it’d be a larger, extensive facility with greater appeal, it would have the potential to align with future population growth, it would have some tourist appeal, and could potentially obtain external funding.
Its negatives were that it’d be located outside of Thames which could impact the willingness of residents to travel farther afield, and that it could come at a higher operating and capital cost.
The three ‘construct’ options all aim to meet the aquatic needs of the town – which is to remedy the current pool provision described as “structured, inflexible, cold, and ageing,” and fulfil a “clear community desire for indoor and warm water”.
The council’s survey is available online and also through paper copies, which can be obtained from its offices on Mackay St, at the Thames Library, and the Centennial Pool.
Responses must be submitted before Monday, May 6.