Popular leafy suburbs pool closed after safety concerns
Investigations into tiles lifting at a popular pool have to led to one local fan establishing a website devoted to getting it back in action.
Summer could be dampened as the popular Tusmore Wading Pool in Adelaide’s leafy eastern suburbs is currently shut over safety concerns.
Burnside Council CEO Julia Grant said tiles lifting from the base of the pool have created sharp edges and could cause injury.
“Council is disappointed that the pool is not available for the community but safety for families and young children must come first,” she said.
Concerned locals took to Facebook to express their disappointment, with one even setting up a website calling on the Burnside Council to grant fee entry for one adult and child under five to George Botlon Swimming Centre while the wading pool is closed.
“This page isn’t about blaming anyone. It’s a place for the families who use Tusmore, rely on it and want to see it open again: to show how many of us there are, and to suggest one thing that would help in the meantime,” the website states.
“I’m a local parent and I’ve already raised this with council myself. This page is a way to show it isn’t just one family who misses the pool.”
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Local resident Samuel Spronk, who set up the website, has been taking his daughter to the Tusmore Wading Pool for the past two summers. He told InDaily a similar issue also happened last year.
“When I saw it was closed again due to the same issue, with summer coming and no reopening date, I felt I had to try something,” he said.
Spronk said he was “disappointed” for the children who use the pool when he found out about the temporary closure.
“It’s a fantastic facility when it’s open, and it looks like we might be heading into summer without it,” he said.
“I understand council needs to get the repair right so it’s safe, and I appreciate that. I’d just love to see a reopening date, or some help for families while we wait.
“It’s one of the few free, shallow, safe places for toddlers to cool off on hot days, so a lot of young families rely on it.”
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Spronk said he has been in contact with Burnside Council about the issue and found them helpful, adding that the website was not a campaign against the council.
Responding to the proposal for free entry, Grant said any changes to fees and charges for entry into the George Bolton Swimming Centre would need to be considered by the council first.
It comes after the Tusmore Wading Pool, first opened in 1966, underwent a major, $2.3 million redevelopment in 2021-22.
Grant said that the council has undertaken detailed engineering investigations into the cause of the lifting tiles.
She said the lifting of tiles was widespread and that many large sections of tiled surface had been affected.
Asked if people using the pool for skate boarding during winter was causing tiles to lift, the council said it was not aware of any reported incidents or evidence of this happening.
“Forensic engineering has revealed that use of the surface during the winter season would not have caused the tiles to lift,” Grant said.
Council was also working with the redevelopment project’s architect, engineers and construction contractor to fix the pool so it can be reopened, she said.
Grant was unable to confirm a reopening date for the pool while this work was being undertaken.
Burnside Council was also unable to provide information on how much money it would cost to repair the pool while contractual discussions are underway.
“Council has completed detailed investigations into the recurring tile failures and is working with the project team to finalise a long-term solution,” Grant said.
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