Hamilton City Council pressured over pools

Pressure is on Hamilton City Council to continue to keep paying for the 100-year-old Hamilton Municipal Pools until at least July.

About 120 people, including swimmers and historians, met representatives from the council on Wednesday night at the Hamilton Celebrating Age Centre urging them to reconsider their plans to shut the leaky pool on March 31.

Deputy mayor Gordon Chesterman will now try to get enough council support for the matter to be urgently raised at next Thursday's full council meeting so it can consider putting forward more money to keep the pool open until July.

Staff are working out what the short-term cost to the council would be on top of the $1.435 million required in work and repairs estimated if the heritage protected pool is to remain open.

Extending the deadline would give the lobby group time to put their case forward to the council during the Long Term Plan submission process in April.

The spokeswoman for the Sink or Swim lobby group Megan Bourke said there was growing support for the facility which had been neglected by the council over the past few years.

Supporters also criticised the lack of marketing and public awareness which they said contributed to low patronage of the north Victoria St complex.

Swimming Waikato and Sport Waikato also called on the council to give them more time.

They agreed to the pool being closed during winter providing it reopened in summer.