Artist impression of the Mount Hot Pools external upgrade. Photo / Supplied
Artist impression of the Mount Hot Pools external upgrade. Photo / Supplied
The Mount Hot Pools will close later this month for scheduled maintenance and a facelift.
The iconic facility at the foot of Mauao will close on January 25 for ten weeks to upgrade the external façade which will include illuminated signage to increase visibility, seating for passing visitors, a pou and a segment of palisade fencing to acknowledge the cultural significance of the land on which the pools resides.
Bay Venues Ltd, the caretaker of the Mount Hot Pools, have been in discussions with mana whenua to co-design aspects of the façade.
Bay Venues is also taking this time to undertake scheduled maintenance to the facility.
Interim chief executive Justine Brennan said February and March were the quietest months at the pools.
"While it's a busy time for the Mount, we find most visitors and locals head to the beach rather than soak in the hot pools in hot weather, so our patronage over this time is over 40 per cent less than the winter months.
Mount Hot Pools. Photo / File
"It's the perfect time to close our doors to undertake the façade update, along with essential maintenance work on this outdoor facility that ensures we are ready for our busy winter months."
The Mount Hot Pools will be closed for a period of ten weeks, re-opening in time for their busy Easter and April school holiday period.
The length of the closure will allow the Mount Hot Pools to undertake important remedial and maintenance work to the facility as part of their three to four yearly aquatic closure schedule.
Maintenance work includes resurfacing of the children's pool, a new shade sail over a seated section of the active pool, and planned maintenance to the plant room, pool and bore pump and pools themselves, which requires the operating system of the facility to be off and the pools to be emptied for an extended period.
Underground pipes will also be replaced following the discovery of leaks which has led to water loss and could result in colder pools in winter (due to complying with geothermal bore pool heating resource consent thresholds).
"It's essential we close for ten weeks to undertake the plant room and bore pump maintenance, as well as remedy the pipe leaks which have resulted due to incorrect substrate being laid underneath the pipes pre-Bay Venues ownership." Brennan said.
"We are the kaitiaki of this facility and though the length of the closure may attract some criticism, it's in the best interest of the facility and future visitors that we undertake these works now to mitigate the risk of unplanned outages and potentially cold pools in winter."
