Tauranga City’s Mayor and Councillors have voted to support the development of a 50-metre outdoor training pool at Mount Maunganui College and to keep the Ōtūmoetai Swimming Pool up and running.

At this week’s Annual Plan 2025/26 deliberations, the Council was presented with three key options as part of a draft Aquatics Network Plan, which will outline a roadmap for aquatic facilities in Tauranga.

The Council was told site investigations are underway to inform the next step for the Memorial Park Aquatic project. If found to be favourable, a design review will ensure the project has the right scope, design and cost to deliver value for money for the community.

Tauranga Mayor Mahé Drysdale says a community survey undertaken at the end of 2024 showed 73% of respondents supported additional aquatic facilities with an indoor 50-metre lane pool ranking the second highest feature in the feedback.

He says the initial Memorial Park Aquatic Centre proposal, which had an original budget of $124 million, was inherited from the Commission but he is keen to get a better financial outcome.

“We’re committed to delivering value for money, so it’s on us to understand what our community wants and consider what cost savings could be possible,” Mahé says.

“I applaud the Mount Maunganui Aquatic Centre Trust for bringing us the 50-metre pool option. It ticks a lot of boxes, and we would provide an Olympic-size pool for Tauranga in the shortest possible timeframe. From a Council perspective, it’s probably the most economical pool we could ever build.”

The Council is supportive of the 50-metre pool proposal but will continue to work with the Trust and undertake due diligence before releasing the funding.

Deputy Mayor Jen Scoular says the Aquatic Network Plan is looking at the bigger picture for Tauranga and delivering what the people of Tauranga have said they want.

“This supports a healthy Tauranga. We want kids learning to swim and being safe in the water. We want them having fun and we’ve now got some great options on the table.”

The Aquatics Network Plan will now be drafted and go back to the Council for endorsement before going out for community consultation.

Council Recommendations:

Memorial Park Aquatic Centre
(c)     Notes that the site investigations currently underway for the existing Memorial Pool site (including geotechnical) will be available in early August 2025. If the results are favourable, this could present an opportunity to locate the new Memorial Aquatics Centre on that site and to retain the Queen Elizabeth Youth Centre for circa 15 years.
Ōtūmoetai Pool
(d)     Supports the Ōtūmoetai Pool Working Group’s recommendations to retain and upgrade the Ōtūmoetai Pool and signals its intent to allocate indicative capital funding of $3.28m (uninflated) in 2027/28 and $2.43m (uninflated) in 2032/33 through the next Long-Term Plan in line with those recommendations.
(e)     Notes that if the Ōtūmoetai Pool is retained in the network the Development Contributions Policy will need to be amended to reflect the implications of that decision.
Mount Maunganui College 50-metre pool
(f)      Confirms in-principle support for the Mount Maunganui College 50m Pool expansion proposal, including ongoing Council support to subsidise the community use of the pool, with:
(i)      a $4.945m initial 10-year loan-funded operational grant for the pool construction, paid to the Mount Maunganui Aquatic Centre Trust over 2025/26 (2.59m) and 2026/27 ($2.355m), and
(ii)      up to $340,000 annual operational grant, based on actual net operational costs, on an ongoing basis to meet the extra cost of providing a 50m community pool,
as outlined in the Mount Maunganui Aquatic Centre Trust proposal (attachment 4). Subject to: Annual Plan decisions and their impacts on the balanced budget financial benchmark, formal support for the proposal from Ministry of Education and Mount Maunganui College Board of Trustees, and the outcomes of resolution (g).
(g)     Instructs staff to continue further due diligence and financial modelling, and to work with the Mount Maunganui Aquatic Centre Trust to finalise a funding agreement that provides:
(i)      the legal and financial framework for the upgrade and ongoing operation of a new 50m pool,
(ii)      long-term confidence to the Mount Maunganui Aquatic Centre Trust and the Council regarding the financial sustainability of the proposal, and
(iii)     fair, equitable and safe community use of the pool, including non-structured community open use.
(h)     If resolution (f) and (g) are not successfully implemented, signal in-principle support for option 2, 33m pool expansion to a wider 33m x 25m pool in 2025/26 and 2026/27 approving:
(i)      an initial 10-year loan-funded operational grant of $2.6 mil for construction, and
(ii)      an ongoing operational grant of up to $20,000 to cover the additional cost of meeting PoolSafe requirements,
as the alternative preferred option. Subject to Annual Plan decisions and their impacts on the balanced budget financial benchmark and formal support for the proposal from Ministry of Education and Mount Maunganui College Board of Trustees.
Aquatic Network Plan
(i)      Approves the development of an Aquatics Network Plan, as outlined in this report, including targeted stakeholder engagement and broader community consultation.
(j)      Notes that, subject to the above resolutions, staff will prepare an Aquatic Network Plan that outlines a roadmap for the future of aquatics in Tauranga, including:
(i)      An aquatic centre at Memorial Park,
(ii)      Retention of Ōtūmoetai Pool for at least 15 years, and
(iii)     Support for the development of a 50m training pool at Mount Maunganui College.

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