Hamilton 'under-laned' when it comes to swimming says councillor Mark Bunting

A Hamilton councillor wants to upgrade Waterworld in a much larger complex. Photo / Hamilton City Council

With Waterworld seemingly under a never ending cycle of maintenance, a Hamilton councillor is calling on the need for more swimming pools in the Waikato's capital city as Hamilton continues to grow.

Hamilton City councillor Mark Bunting, who chairs the community and services committee, said the city is desperately under laned when it comes to swimming facilities.

"Our city is growing at a rate where I believe we no longer have the swimming infrastructure to keep up with teaching children how to learn to swim, and offer a place for leisure swimmers," Bunting said.

Hamilton's swimming facilities have been in the spotlight recently with the now delayed demolition of the Municipal Pools on Victoria St, and both Waterworld and the Gallaghers Aquatic centre being closed at different times over the last year for maintenance.

The Municipal Pools were closed in 2012. In June 2015, Hamilton City Council voted to permanently close them due to safety and structural concerns.

He acknowledged that the group Sink or Swim had been advocating for the reopening of the Municipal Pools, however he said the work needed to fix up the pool would cost too much.

"You would have to rebuild it from scratch and we've also been done that there is a huge hole underneath the structure as well which is not ideal.

"The demand on the city facilities is huge because people aren't learning to swim and we are an inland city so we don't have a beach and our river apart from a huge spot isn't really swimmable."

Bunting said there are still talks to make Hamilton lake swimmable again, however he said that it would take millions and millions of dollars for that dream to come true.

"It is a romantic dream to have the lake swimmable again, but that isn't going to happen anytime soon so we need a short term solution."

Bunting has set his sight on covering the Waterworld outdoor pool to make it more accessible all year round, with his ultimate goal to upgrade Waterworld into Hamilton's very own Splash planet which is the popular water park in Hastings.

"My preference is to build-up Waterworld, beat up the outdoor pool and maybe add another pool, but we just have to have the courage to do it," Bunting said.

Bunting also said that across the Waikato there is a lack of pools for an inland region, with Waipa residents still waiting for Cambridge's new aquatic centre to open later this year.

"We simply just have to do better in the city and in the region and I want Hamilton lead the way when it comes to aquatic facilities in the Waikato. Learning to swim is one of the most crucial lessons a child can have and we have to provide that infrastructure for them and the leisure swimmers."