Repairs on swimming pool in Airdrie to begin eight months after closure

Councillors have agreed to commence repairs at an Airdrie swimming pool eight months after it closed.

On December 31 2024, the plant room at John Smith Pool flooded, resulting in the pool being drained causing major damage to electrical systems and pumps.

Since then North Lanarkshire Council has been working with loss adjusters to determine the insurance settlement and funding required to reopen the facility, with this project costed at around £1m.

Although insurance is likely to cover half of the original repair cost, or £175,000, the draining of the pool caused numerous other problems which have inflated the reopening cost to £1m.

This will include addressing longstanding issues affecting the health suite and dealing with concerns over the facility’s accessibility which were highlighted in a survey carried out in 2022.

At a recent meeting councillors voted through a plan to use funding from the Active and Creative Communities capital investment programme and carry out a strategic review of all pools in North Lanarkshire.

Councillor Adam Smith (SNP, Cumbernauld East) tabled an amendment which requested that any decision to reduce maintenance of facilities be referred to councillors and to explore the use of financial reserves to mitigate the impact on any other facilities, rather than divert money away from upgrades and improvements.

Seconding the motion was councillor Fiona Fotheringham (SNP, Wishaw) who noted that NL Leisure memberships were currently at an all time high of around 45,000, and that it had been promised that facilities would not be allowed to decline despite problems such as needing to close the Time Capsule for repairs again soon after it had reopened.

She spoke of vulnerable people being squeezed into squash courts and fitness studios where air conditioning had not worked in months.

Councillor Paul Di Mascio (Progressive Change North Lanarkshire, Airdrie South) said he was delighted to see the proposal albeit eight months after the pool had closed, before saying that councillors had received little or differing information on the status of the facility, and highlighted difficulties in getting public updates on the pool even when a petition with 2,500 signatures was submitted.

He was advised that nothing was being withheld but there was little information to provide as the council was waiting for many important details such as costs and insurance claims as well as ongoing discussions on financing the repairs.

Independent councillor Alan Beveridge (Airdrie North) asked about the expected duration of the repairs, and was advised this would be around six months due to the need to replace the floor which could only be done by a single company based in the Netherlands.

Provost Kenneth Duffy said it was inappropriate for the opposition group to propose the use of reserves as per their amendment as this was something that should be discussed when the council was setting its budget.

The motion was passed by 14 votes to ten.