Peterborough's Regional Pool 'not worth fixing' after RAAC discovery, former council leader says

Crumbly concrete is the “final nail in the coffin” of Peterborough’s Regional Pool, the council’s former leader has said.

Cllr Wayne Fitzgerald (Conservatives, West) said the pool is “not worth fixing” now reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, or RAAC, has been identified in the building on Bishop’s Road.

Councillors have previously admitted the pool, which has been closed since September, may not re-open after a building survey suggested it would need £11–£15m repairs to bring it up to standard.

Cllr Fitzgerald said at a Peterborough City Council (PCC) meeting this week he’s “sure the cabinet, on 10th March, will be finally and formally announcing the closure of the pool”.

“They’ll have a plan, but there was always a plan,” he said. “It was obvious to all that the pool needs replacing.”

Deputy leader Cllr John Howard (Peterborough First, Hargate and Hempsted) said there was “no plan on the table” when his administration took over the council from the Conservatives in November and maintains a final decision on the pool has not yet been made.

No solution 'will be tomorrow'

But he acknowledges that there will be an ongoing gap in city centre pool provision whatever happens at the next cabinet meeting.

“Part of the consideration is mitigation of what happens in between, because whether there’s a repair or a replacement, both of those solutions aren’t tomorrow,” he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) after the meeting.

The Regional Pool is on PCC’s list of community assets it’s considering selling or repurposing, but there’s no specific provision for it in its budget for the coming year.

Asked how a new pool would be funded, cabinet member Cllr Peter Hiller (Peterborough First, Glinton and Castor) said “the established view is that a new pool would most likely be funded from a combination of grant and private sector funding, although a formal decision is yet to be made about the future of the existing building.

“If a new facility is decided on, the funding level required depends on specification, land acquisition and the necessary planning and contracting infrastructure required for this project to happen,” he said.

Councillor says 'failed get-rich-quick schemes' have hamstrung new services

Cllr Christian Hogg (Liberal Democrats, Fletton and Stanground) said various “mismanaged items” in the council in recent years mean the council is hamstrung when it wants to offer new services.

“Since I’ve been a councillor, we’ve had several failed Tory get-rich-quick schemes which include the still-to-be resolved Hilton development and the Empower investment,” he said.

"Both of which are costing us borrowing costs which could have been retained in our revenue budget or the capital used to fund a plethora of items such as a Regional Pool replacement or vital refurbishment of our community assets such as libraries and community centres.”

Cllr Fitzgerald responded that previous decisions “were made because those were the terms at the time”, adding that “hindsight is a wonderful thing, but collective responsibility can’t be denied”.

Most of Peterborough First, now in charge of the council, were previously in the Conservative group, he said, although they pointed out that not all of them had been elected when some of these decisions were made.

The Regional Pool has faced various problems over the past year, from Legionella to damaged asbestos to a broken roof to the discovery of RAAC.

Its car park was also handed over to ARU Peterborough for development last year, prompting the council to spend £1m on a temporary replacement for users.

PCC says it’s tried to mitigate the effects of the issues.

This includes extending Peterborough’s Lido season offering swimming provision at Stanground Academy and Jack Hunt School.