No scenario can save all public pools, report says

The Southern Swimming Pool is 43 years old

There was "no scenario" where four regional swimming pools could continue to operate on the Isle of Man, a government report has found.

The probe into the affordability of the pools recommended the closure of the southern facility, with its subvention used to support those in the north and west.

That decision has been blasted by local politicians and the Southern Swimming Pool board.

The education department said it did not have the "necessary funding" to keep all of the pools open within its existing budget.

The report also found about £11m would be needed over the next 30 years for the long term maintenance of the three regional pools.

The report also suggested £1m of maintenance would be needed for the southern facility alone, before improvements.

The investigation into whether creating new sports hubs would ensure the future of the regional swimming pools was backed by Tynwald following a review into the management of the island's local authority-run facilities.

Energy costs

Undertaken by the Department of Education, Sport and Culture (Desc) and Department of Infrastructure (DOI), the report considered the finances of the regional pools in Castletown, Peel and Ramsey, and the government-run National Sports Centre in Douglas.

Alongside the £92,000 funding from local authority rates, the regional pools collectively receive an annual government subvention of about £1.1m, with an additional £0.6m for loan repayments for the northern and western facilities.

Based on the assessments by consultants Sanderson Weatherall, the report looked at a range of possible options to maintain the pools.

They ranged from keeping regional boards and increasing subventions, to the Desc taking over the management of all pools.

The DOI said its preference would be for the Desc to take charge of all the public pools, but the education department said it could not cover the costs within its current budget due to increasing energy costs and hikes in inflation.

The Desc has recommended the closure of the Southern Swimming Pool with the allocated funding of £434,004 transferred to support the northern and western facilities by covering increased energy costs permanently.

It has also backed the remaining regional pools continuing to be operated by their existing local authority led boards.

The report, along with the recommendation to close the southern pool, will be debated in February's sitting of Tynwald.