News / Clickimin pool to re-open ahead of schedule
THE LERWICK swimming pool at Clickimin is to re-open on 10 October, its owners Shetland Recreational Trust confirmed on Thursday.
The pool closed two months ago after a bolt fell into the pool from its glazed roof.
Subsequent investigation revealed the bolt had snapped due to “stress corrosion cracking” due to the high humidity and temperature in the building over the 20 years since it opened.
The closure and repair work is costing the trust £160,000, half of which is from lost income.
To restrict its losses, almost a month ago the trust re-opened poolside areas at Clickimin, including the café, health suite, hydrotherapy pool, soft play area and waterside suite.
On Thursday the trust said new corrosion resistant bolts had been inserted in the glazed roof and once the scaffolding has been dismantled, staff will deep clean the building and re-fill the pool.
The whole building, including the main pool, toddlers’ pool, river, flumes and health suite, will open as normal again at 10am on the first day of the October school holidays.
However, while cleaning is taking place, the whole building, including the café, soft play area and waterside suite, will be closed for three days from Monday 28 to Wednesday 30 September.
SRT general manager James Johnston said he was delighted the pool would re-open ahead of schedule.
“We are sorry that it has taken so long to resolve the issue we had with the roof and thank our customers for their understanding and patience,” he said.
“Our contractors DITT and Access 2000 and our consultant engineers Mott MacDonald have done a fantastic job of resolving the issue with the bolts as quickly as they could given the difficulties of access to the roof area.”
As an added bonus, the trust is holding a prize draw to win a year long Aqua swimming subscription with the name of everyone using the pool in the first week after it re-opens until Friday 16 October being thrown into the hat.
In the meantime, the extended hours at Scalloway pool will continue until 9 October.
A full October holiday activity programme will be advertised from Thursday 1 October.
The next block of Learn to Swim classes will run at Clickimin from 26 October to 18 December, with bookings being taken from 5 October.
Become a supporter of Shetland News
Shetland News is asking its many readers to consider start paying for their dose of the latest local news delivered straight to their PC, tablet or mobile phone.
Journalism comes at a price and because that price is not being paid in today’s rapidly changing media world, most publishers - national and local - struggle financially despite very healthy audience figures.
Most online publishers have started charging for access to their websites, others have chosen a different route. Shetland News currently has over 600 supporters who are all making small voluntary financial contributions. All funds go towards covering our cost and improving the service further.
Your contribution will ensure Shetland News can: -
- Bring you the headlines as they happen;
- Stay editorially independent;
- Give a voice to the community;
- Grow site traffic further;
- Research and publish more in-depth news, including more Shetland Lives features.
If you appreciate what we do and feel strongly about impartial local journalism, then please become a supporter of Shetland News by either making a single payment or monthly subscription.
Support us from as little as £3 per month – it only takes a minute to sign up. Thank you.