West Christchurch provided with summer access to outdoor pool

28 September 2007

West Christchurch families will enjoy easy access to a local outdoor swimming pool this summer.

In what is believed to be a first, the City Council will hire the pool at Villa Maria College during the summer holidays to provide local families, children and community with access to an outdoor pool.

City Council Recreation and Sports Manager John Filsell says with the closure of Jellie Park for redevelopment, it was important to ensure the local community could still enjoy swimming at an outdoor pool in their area.

Jellie Park is undergoing a $12 million redevelopment which has made it necessary to close the outdoor pool complex this summer. The redevelopment facility, scheduled to re-open mid next year, will have a suite of four indoor pools, an outdoor pool complex, new gymnasium and aerobics studio.

Mr Filsell says Jellie Park was one of the city’s original outdoor leisure facilities and is popular with families during summer. "This meant it was important this area of the city had an alternative pool during the 2007/08 summer school holidays.

"From 3 to 27 January 2008, Villa Maria’s outdoor pool will be open to the public from noon to 5pm each day. There will be signposted access off Brodie Street."

During the remainder of the summer, West Christchurch residents will be able to access any of the city’s other outdoor summer pools, the closest being at Halswell, Belfast and Templeton.

Throughout summer and until the new Jellie Park facility open, he says West Christchurch residents also have easy access to the Centennial, Pioneer and QEII Leisure Centres.

"Council recognises closure of Jellie Park will cause some inconvenience for families but it is only for one season, Next summer, West Christchurch will have access to a world-class aquatic facility and a suite of outdoor and indoor pools.

"When Jellie Park opened in 1964, it was New Zealand’s premier lido-style outdoor swimming pool. The redevelopment of the facility will return Jellie Park to its status as a state-of-the-art complex, establishing it as the anchor facility for west Christchurch, as QEII is for the east."

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