Scarborough residents speak out about Sports Village swimming pool closure

Scarborough residents have been left angry and disappointed following the latest closure of the town’s main swimming pool.
The 14m Scarborough Sports Village opened on the former Weaponness car and coach park in June 2017The 14m Scarborough Sports Village opened on the former Weaponness car and coach park in June 2017
The 14m Scarborough Sports Village opened on the former Weaponness car and coach park in June 2017

Scarborough Sports Village closed both the main and learner pools from Sunday to Tuesday due to an “unforeseen technical issue”.

The pools have been closed several times over the past few months which has led to children’s lessons and swimming club training cancelled, and residents using the pool for leisure missing out.

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Despite several closures, Rachael Barnes, General Manager at Scarborough Sports Village, said this latest incident was “an isolated issue”.

She said: “Unfortunately, we had to close the swimming pool at around 9am on Sunday due to a fault with the compressor which will be replaced.

“Our pool plant specialist contractor was on site yesterday [Tuesday] and we reopened the pool at 6pm”.

“We recognise there have been a number of issues with the pool and we are working closely with the contractor to ensure it is running as smoothly as possible.

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“We apologise for any inconvenience this has caused for our customers and ask them to get in touch with the centre directly if they would like to discuss this further.”

Scarborough Swimming Club, who use the facilities at Scarborough Sports Village, have had to cancel several sessions as “there is no other venue,” said head coach and chairman Sam Greetham.

“The closure has particularly affected our elite performers including our current triathletes and national qualifiers who are in the midst of international qualification,” he said.

“By not being able to get in the water they have been left four to eight hours light in preparation which could be critical to them.

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“It’s quite a mammoth thing just operating in one facility with no suitable alternative without travelling,” he added.

Residents have expressed their feelings online.

One pool user told The Scarborough News: “I’ve been a member since the sports village opened – I actually left my other gym because it didn’t have a pool.

“Like many other users, I’m really unhappy about the pool closures. It has been out of action quite a few times over winter at short notice.

“I pay by direct debit every month for a service I’m not getting – it’s not good enough.

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“The explanations of why it’s been closed have always been poor and vague. What is actually going on?”

Other people have also mentioned multiple closures in their comments, including “This is happening more and more just lately. Are we going to get a refund of our membership? Fees go out but we can’t use the pool”, “The pool is forever closing, not reliable at all” and “So that’s three times they’ve ‘closed’ it due to technical problems. I hope when it’s fixed it doesn’t take another week to warm up!”

One parent said: “My son was so disappointed today, his school usually have their swimming lesson there on Mondays.”

The £14m Scarborough Sports Village opened on the former Weaponness car and coach park in June 2017, replacing Scarborough Sports Centre and Scarborough Indoor Pool, and combining their facilities on one site.

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The centre, run by Everyone Active, includes a main and learner pool, 60-station gym, outdoor 3G football pitch which is home to Scarborough Athletic and also used by the community, fitness classes and sports hall.