Leisure bosses have said plans to fix a diving pool pump have been delayed due to supply chain issues.
The diving pool pump at the Castle Sports Centre in Spalding was replaced in July 2025, but it failed in February this year, writes Local Democracy Reporter Oliver Castle.
South Holland District Council (SHDC) officials said there have been delays in sourcing the materials to fix the diving pump which has meant it still hasn’t been fixed.
At an SHDC performance monitoring panel on Tuesday, May 26, Coun Bryan Alcock (Independent – Crowland and Deeping St Nicholas), who was chairing the meeting, told officers: “I think the thing that sort of concerned the panel is that this has dragged on for so long.”
Marc Whelan, strategic operation and property manager at SHDC, replied: “Yes, I see the point; it does look like it has dragged on for some time.
“The main issue was when it was, I believe we fitted in last July. You’d expect a pump to last four to five years, at least.
“It lasted six to seven months – and actually in that time period – it started failing.”
Mr Whelan went on to explain that there have been supply chain issues in sourcing the correct materials to fix the problem. Parts were ordered from Italy and the council had to chase the supplier when errors were spotted after they were installed.
Attempts to fix the matter were met with several delays.
He added: “You can put in lots of phone calls, put in lots of emails – but ultimately they tend to work to their own schedules unfortunately.”
Mr Whelan went on to say that the council is considering how it can use more local contractors in an attempt to reduce possible delays if things go wrong in the future.
He added: “To cut the long story short, if I can sort another manufacturer that’s more local – that’s certainty what I’d do.
“This is certainly something that we should probably consider that if these go wrong again, they are a very good manufacturer to be connected to them.”
The pool is currently open while the ‘dry side’ of the Castle complex is closed to undergo a complete transformation. The revamped centre will include a new pool – bringing all the facilities under one roof.
Once that site is open, the current pool will be knocked down and will make way for extra care housing.
