Pool will have to close for repairs

A city swimming pool will have to close before the end of the year to allow for slippy floor tiles to be replaced.

Slippy floors throughout parts of Perdiswell Leisure Centre in Worcester are said to be of “questionable” quality and have been an issue since opening in 2017.

Worcester City Council says it is has been left with no other option but to close the pool for several weeks to allow for the tiles to be replaced.

The council said there had been 57 ‘near-misses’ recorded by staff in October last year but there were no major safety concerns.

Replacing the surface around the swimming pool and changing rooms is expected to cost more than £180,000 with a claim for loss of income during the closure expected to rise to as much as £120,000.

The work is expected to take around three months between October and December with the pool closed for at least two-to-three weeks.

Last year, several tests were carried out on the leisure centre floor with anti-slip coating applied to some parts of the poolside.

The council said the floor was in still in a poor state by the time the leisure centre re-opened after the third lockdown in April – despite only being open for a month in December – which has forced Freedom Leisure to use anti-slip mats in the changing rooms and poolside.

Testing and repairing the surface has so far cost the council more than £32,000 including two ‘deep cleans’ and resurfacing which cost more than £20,000.

A report, which will be discussed by the city council’s policy and resources committee meets next Tuesday (June 8), said the quality of the poolside surface at the leisure centre was “questionable.”

“Although no major safety concerns or incidents have been identified since the pool has been in operation, nevertheless the number of near misses, recorded incidents and feedback from users has caused the issue to remain a matter for regular discussion and intervention by the council and Freedom Leisure,” the report said.