Improvements to cleanliness and management at Spalding swimming pool are having a noticeable effect, councillors have been told.
For some considerable time, criticism dogged South Holland District Council –owner of The Castle Sports Complex – and 1Life, the leisure company contracted to run it.
But members of the council’s performance monitoring panel received a positive update last Tuesday from executive director place Rob Walker in a report written by communities manager Emily Holmes, who has responsibility for overseeing improvements suggested by a council task group last November.
The report said that feedback from the public has been good and there was a noticeable drop in complaints. Furthermore, those that were being made were being dealt with quickly.
The meeting was told that between February 27 and April 24 this year there were 16 positive comments in the log regarding cleanliness and maintenance and five negative.
One measure introduced to reduce dirty floors was issue of blue overshoes (an elasticated plastic shoe worn over outdoor shoes).
A review of the policy with the possibility of introducing a more robust one has been made, but “a suitable alternative is not available at this time”.
Councillors were told: “Consideration was also given to other physical measures, such as a turnstile to ensure that each person entering the changing room area puts on the overshoes but this has been discounted due to emergency access in and out.”
Pool users have reacted positively to encouragement to wear overshoes.
Meanwhile, replacement floors for the ladies’ and men’s changing area were completed in February and March. Work on the schools’ changing area is due to begin on Tuesday and be completed during the half-term holiday.
Following that, 1Life has arranged for a specialist floor to ceiling deep clean to be undertaken in all problem areas.
