Olympic-standard Liverpool swimming pool

A £15M Olympic-standard Liverpool swimming pool gets the go-ahead today.

Councillors are set to rubber-stamp blueprints for a top-class 50-metre pool on the site of Picton Sports Centre.

It will provide both indoor and outdoor sports facilities and attract more than 500,000 visitors every year.

The pool is expected to be open by September next year and initial work has already begun.

The revised cost now stands at £14.9m, with £4.02m from a Sports Lottery Grant.http://a248.e.akamai.net/6/592/1130/...ault/empty.gif

Liverpool council is finalising contracts with Gleeson Building to build the pool.

The complex will feature a 50-metre, eight-lane pool with moveable floor, 20-metre, four- lane teaching pool and seating for 400.

Stephen Parry, who won Olympic bronze in Athens, welcomed the news on a visit to the site.

That pool was supposed to be completed by this year last time they mentioned it in 2004! :mad:

Picton Sports centre has been closed for over a year and a big chunk of the park has been boarded off to make room for it!

Can anyone confirm that they will be using this new pool in The Olympics? I heard something today. Rumours, u know the score :rolleyes:

I've heard nothing since the announcement by Liverpool City Council on Mar 03 2006 here. :doubt:

Found this on icLiverpool:

The 2008 Olympic flame may burn in Merseyside - Mar 15 2006

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Mr Kellett said there would be a need for good sports facilities in the region and welcomed the news of a new 50m pool in Liverpool.

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:slywink:

:PDT11

:PDT11 Bigger water fights!

I remember when they put all the fencing up around the area when i was still going to school, that was 2 years ago:shock:

Still there!

The pool was supposed to be completed by about januray is what they said when they put up the fences!

Who's for a bom'in competition when its built... sheesh lord knows I have the weight these days :D

Jan 17 2008 EXCLUSIVE by Ben Turner, Liverpool Echo

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* VIEW our picture gallery from inside the new swimming pool

TODAY the ECHO brings you an exclusive first look at Liverpool’s £15m Olympic-sized pool.

And we can reveal the long-awaited complex in Wavertree is set to open its doors on March 15.

Council chiefs today predicted it will be a magnet for swimmers and athletes as well as the pride of the community.

And today the complex, which backs on to the Picton Lifestyles gym, got the thumbs up from Allerton-born Olympian Stephen Parry.

He said: “It’s one of the best pools I have ever seen.”

The lack of a 50m pool had put the city’s talented swimmers at a significant disadvantage.

But the bronze medallist, who at his peak had to train in Manchester and the USA, said this should now change.

He added: “At junior level Liverpool has dominated the national stage but at senior level, unfortunately, we’ve had to leave the area to train.

“As well as attracting talented athletes it is a huge opportunity for the community right from learners to senior swimmers.”

The ECHO can reveal its state-of-the-art features include a moveable floor meaning the eight-lane 50m pool can be split in two to cater for different groups.

It also boasts a separate 20m warm-up pool.

Up to 100 people have been working on the 400-seater public facility, funded mainly by Liverpool council with £4m coming from Sport England.

Its roof is held up with timber beams shipped in from Austria so light is let into the building.

The huge wooden beams will also absorb sound and cut down on any echo.

The pool replaces the worn-out Picton baths.

Council leader Cllr Warren Bradley said the new facility would breed future Olympians.

He said: “Existing facilities such as the pool at Everton Park would delight most cities.

“But this is a step further to promote a healthy lifestyle and help our excellent swimming professionals turn potential into medals.”

Fill up on these pool facts

THE pool site has a 50m pool and a 20m warm-up pool. A moveable floor means the 50m pool can be split in two.

More than a million litres of water are needed to fill the pools in an operation stretching over six days.

It has been designed by S and P Architects - responsible for the Aquatics Centre for the London 2012 Olympics. GB Building Solutions are the main contractors.

It boasts a huge disabled-friendly “changing village” with power showers, 100 cubicles and 250 lockers.

An electricity substation has been built to power it and the neighbouring state-of-the-art gym.

The longest timber beam holding up the roof of the new pool is around 40 metres.

* VIEW our picture gallery from inside the new swimming pool

benturner@liverpoolecho.co.uk

Finally, It's nearly done.

Picton Sports Centre closed In late 04 and this originally was supposed to be finished In 2006.

Olympic pool will cost £27m in debt repayments
Feb 14 2008
by David Bartlett, Liverpool Daily Post

LIVERPOOL’S long-awaited Olympic-sized swimming pool will cost £27m in interest and debt repayments over 20 years – creating an annual bill of £10 for each household.

The Daily Post can reveal the final bill for the 50m pool at Picton Sports Centre will be more than £31m when the debt is finally repaid in 2028.

Last month, it emerged the cost of building the pool had soared by 40% from original estimates of £12m to £16.9m.

The city was given a £4m grant from Sport England for the 400-seater centre in Wavertree, and borrowed the remaining £12.9m.

The cost of servicing and paying off that debt will cost £1.3m a year.

Last night, opposition Labour councillors hit out at the final cost of the scheme that will leave the city with such a big bill.

The Liberal Democrat administration said Liverpool had waited decades for a world-class swimming pool, which is due to open next month.

Leisure leader Cllr Colin Eldridge said: “I find it incredible that anyone should criticise the council for having the vision and ambition to build this fantastic, much-needed new facility.”

The new pool includes a moveable floor, meaning the eight-lane 50m pool can be split in two to cater for different groups. It also has a separate 20m warm-up pool.

The roof is held up with timber beams to let light into the building, and absorb sound.

Fitness studios and the gym at the centre have also been upgraded as part of the project.

It will cost about £800,000 in running costs to keep the state-of-the-art centre open, which is similar to the upkeep on the run-down crumbling Victorian pool it replaces.

Labour spokesman on culture, media, and sport Cllr Steve Rotheram said: “One of the criticisms the Labour group used to get from the Liberal Democrats was about all the borrowing under Militant – that seems a little hollow now.

“The taxpayers of the city are going to be saddled with paying this debt for 20 years.”

Cllr Eldridge added: “Liverpool has waited decades for a world-class swimming pool.

“It puts us on a par with cities like Birmingham and Sheffield who have had facilities like this for years.”

He said it was a “travesty” the city’s team of international swimmers, including Olympic medallist Stephen Parry, have not been able to train in their own city and have faced a round trip of 70 miles to train.

Source: Liverpool Daily Post

Shame they didn't see fit to add the diving pool and boards that are needed for any international event to be held there.

Besides its not just swimmer who need facilities they used to have great diving boards at Crosby baths and I'm sure others until they closed.

Is it a Health and Safety thing, It's no wonder all the kids dive into the docks in the summer it's the only place they have left to go diving.

Countdown to opening of Liverpool’s world-class Olympic pool
Feb 26 2008
by Liza Williams, Liverpool Daily Post

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LIVERPOOL’S much anticipated Olympic-size swimming pool has been filled with more than a million litres of water in preparation for its opening next month.

It has taken workers more than five days to pump the contents into the new 50m pool – now officially named the Liverpool Aquatics Centre – and finishing touches are being put to the building.

More...

Lasting memorial for champion swimmer and hero at Liverpool’s new Olympic pool
Feb 26 2008
by Nick Coligan, Liverpool Echo

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A PERMANENT memorial to a trailblazing swimmer will be put in place at Liverpool’s new Olympic-sized pool.

Youngsters at St Hugh’s Catholic primary had campaigned for the £17m Wavertree complex to be named after champion swimmer and lifesaver James Clarke.

Although the pool will be called Liverpool Aquatics Centre, city officials agreed to erect a plaque celebrating Mr Clarke’s pioneering work in the early 1900s.

The British Guyana-born swimmer, who arrived in Liverpool as a 14-year-old stowaway, introduced swimming lessons to Wavertree and saved the lives of many people who got into trouble in the River Mersey and Leeds-Liverpool canal.

More...

I :handclap: the teacher and children of St. Hughs' Primary, for recognising this incredible man , James Clarke. What a tail he had to tell.. and should be remembered in such a lovely venue for all to enjoy there, and for all to learn how one man gave so much for others in one thing he learned to do the best.. swim.. Great article.. ta

Sounds like the whole place will be one to enjoy for many factors of exercise and smiles...

just curious: Is the pool heated?

Cool. This is just 10 minutes away and a friend said it wasn't olympic sized so that's good to hear. Although I agree that it's a shame they left out the diving boards.

LIVERPOOL?S flagship Olympic swimming pool cost city taxpayers ?1.5m in its first nine months of operation, the Daily Post can reveal. Read

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Originally Posted by Howie

Olympic pool will cost ?27m in debt repayments
Feb 14 2008
by David Bartlett, Liverpool Daily Post

LIVERPOOL'S long-awaited Olympic-sized swimming pool will cost ?27m in interest and debt repayments over 20 years, creating an annual bill of ?10 for each household.

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Perhaps the City Council should give Council Tax payers a couple of free one-day passes to encourage people to visit the place. Its the least we deserve if we are being forced to pay at least ?10 a year (based on the current low interest rates) for the next 20 years

I've been reliably informed by my uncle that they do an early bird service of a morning which is free.