Swindon Link Centre reveals reopening date for swimming pool
A leisure centre in Swindon has announced the reopening date for its swimming pool. months after torrential floods damaged the site.
Stormy weather forced the Link Centre to shut in late September, after water damaged electrical circuits, lighting and the sand ice pad base at the centre's ice rink.
The site closed while repairs were carried out, but the management team at Better has announced the swimming pool will open in the new year.
It will be the final facility at the centre to be restored, with plans to bring the ice rink back into action for the public on 18 December announced last month.
The swimming pool is expected to reopen on 2 January 2024, and temporary machinery will be used to heat and power the pool's circulation pumps to get it running on this date.
These will eventually be swapped out for permanent new circulation pumps and other specialist equipment such as water treatment equipment and electric control panels, which have been ordered but will not arrive until later in the year.
Staff said the pool will have to be closed for a short period while these are installed, at a later date.
From next year, people will be able to access the pool between 6am and 10pm on weekdays and from 6.30am to 6pm on weekends. There will be a full range of activities including public swimming sessions, swimming lessons and club swimming on offer.
The swimming pool changing rooms and showers will also be accessible and heated.
Barnaby Rich, Better’s partnership manager for Swindon, said: “We are delighted that we are finally able to announce the reopening of the Link’s swimming pool.
"We know what an essential role it plays in the lives of so many local people and what a valued community asset it is. That’s why we’ve opted to open the pool at the earliest possible opportunity, using some temporary equipment, which will need to be replaced, rather than waiting for the delivery of the new specialist kit that is on order.”
Councillor Jim Grant, Swindon Borough Council’s cabinet member for communities and joint working, said: “This is great news for everyone who uses the pool at the Link from those who swim every day to our younger club swimmers and those who take lessons.
"It is extremely positive that just a couple of weeks after announcing the reopening date for the ice rink, we are now able to look forward to swimming once again at the Link.
"I’d like to thank Better for their pragmatic approach in reopening the swimming pool as quickly as possible because it is really important that we have good swimming provision in Swindon."