Council to consider opening Peterborough's Central Park paddling pool early next year after frustration it remained closed during heatwave
Peterborough City Council will consider opening the paddling pool at Central Park earlier next year.
Temperatures soared over the bank holiday weekend with many residents hoping to take their children for a dip in the free pool in the park but were disappointed to find the facility not open.
Many instead chose to pay to go to The Lido, which saw extraordinary queues over all three days and enjoyed a ‘sell out’ weekend, with the pool fully booked on Saturday, Sunday, Monday – and again on Tuesday.
Among those to express their frustration was Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Paul Bristow. The mayor said he and other families were ‘turned away disappointed.’
Mr Bristow sent a letter to the city council in response, which read: “On the hottest day ever recorded in May, I took my two girls to Central Park paddling pool, only to find it closed. Other families turned away disappointed too.
“While I was fortunate enough to be able to take them to the Lido instead, paid facilities are not an option for every family. Facilities like these are particularly important during warmer weather, school holidays and weekends.
“It is frustrating for residents that in neighbouring places, including Cambridge and Wisbech, already have similar facilities open for the summer season, while Peterborough’s remain closed. Residents will rightly struggle to understand why facilities elsewhere are operational during a period of exceptionally warm weather while ours remain unavailable.
“I would therefore be grateful if the council could urgently review whether both Central Park paddling pool and Bretton Water Park can be opened during this half term or, if that is not possible, ensure they are fully operational in the coming week when the warm weather is likely to continue.
“We should be proud of these facilities and, at a time when families are looking for affordable ways to keep children active and cool during hot weather, it is important they are
available when residents need them most.”
Both the Central Park pool and Bretton Water Park are popular attractions in the city during the summer months and both usually open in July just ahead of the school summer holidays.
The Bretton Water Park opening date this year has been confirmed to be July 18.
A date is not yet known when the Central Park pool will open but the council has now confirmed that it will look to open the pool earlier in future in response to periods of hot weather such as the ones just experienced.
The council has, however, confirmed that it will not be able to bring forward the opening season for the pool this year.
Councillor Chris Wiggin, cabinet member for environment at Peterborough City Council, said: We understand the public’s frustrations, and this is something we can look at in future years.
"Opening public water facilities is not something that can be done at short notice. It requires equipment inspections, water quality testing, and staffing arrangements to be carefully planned in advance. Unfortunately, this cannot be achieved with only a week’s notice of warmer weather, but it is something we can consider as part of a longer-term review of opening schedules.
"While changes cannot be made immediately, we are actively exploring options to extend the operating season from 2027/28 onwards.”
Councillor Zameer Ali, Cabinet Member for Communities and Safety at Peterborough City Council, added: “Central Park paddling pool and Bretton Water Park are usually opened shortly before the summer holidays, when schools break up, and that remains the planned opening period this year. However, we are now reviewing the potential costs and practicalities of extending the season in future years so that residents can benefit more during periods of warmer weather.
"We are actively seeking ways to open this year’s paddling pool season earlier than originally scheduled, particularly during periods of extremely hot weather, which we are seeing more frequently.
"When I lived in Bretton, my own children loved using the splash facility during the summer months, and I would like to see more families enjoy these facilities for longer each year."