Memorial Pool Information

Executive Summary

Memorial Pool was built in the 1950s and is currently in very poor condition:

• It is an end-of-life asset with significant structural and mechanical failures. 

• Ongoing operation relies on short-term, reactive maintenance and carries an increasing risk of critical plant failure. 

• Approximately $80k–$100k would be required to maintain short-term operation, with limited benefit. This funding would be spent on temporary fixes that would not deliver visible improvements for the community. 

• There have been no significant renewals or investment in the facility over the past decade as it has been earmarked for replacement. 

The facility is underused and financially unsustainable. In FY25, the pool recorded 21,000 visits, with a net ratepayer cost of $14.62 per visit.

Apart from the financial exposure below, there are significant risks associated with keeping the pool running, mainly:

• Seismic – not an earthquake safe facility 

• Water quality – does not meet standards and hard to maintain quality due to losses 

• Potential geotechnical issues for both the pool and surrounds due to the unprecedented amount of water loss 

• Operational disruption due to age of plant 

• Asbestos containing materials are present and with age more likely to be exposed

While we initially considered keeping the pool operating for one more season, its condition, ongoing water leaks and operating costs led us to reconsider. Given the need for Council to identify savings to help minimise rates increases, as well as the growing risk profile, closing the facility was a reasonable decision, particularly as the new Memorial Park Aquatic Centre (MPAC) is planned for the site of the existing pool.

While in the medium term, the community will lose access to this aquatic facility over the summer season, the intention is to replace it on the same site with a significantly improved facility. The existing pool would always have needed to close to make way for the new MPAC; the key question was one of timing.

Living Memorial

Memorial Pool was originally built in the 1950s and was part of the city’s War Memorial Scheme.

“...the most suitable form of Memorial to those who gave their lives for our freedom is one that can give to the youth of this and future generations an opportunity for healthy exercise and the preservation of their own and other lives in the water by learning to swim.” 

• Report by Councillor H.C. Bird, 16/1/51 

The pool's 70-year legacy as a living memorial will be acknowledged and included in the design of the proposed new Memorial Park Aquatic Centre, extending the memorial to include veterans of all wars.

The proposed new aquatic centre will continue to provide a space in Memorial Park for young people in Tauranga to learn to swim and exercise, maintaining a clear and meaningful connection to the pool’s legacy as a living memorial for generations to come. 

Actions Taken to Maintain Operations

• Condition investigations have been completed, including pipe inspections and engineering assessments. Targeted repairs have also been undertaken in one area of one pool, along with some pipe fixes, to enable seasonal opening (approximately $10k). 

• These assessments have highlighted potential cost pressures and the risk of further issues emerging once work begins, which is common with ageing facilities. 

• Larger-scale remedial works, including approximately $80-100k of pipe replacement, have been deferred because they would represent poor value for a short remaining period of use. 

• The full cost of permanently addressing the pool’s issues has not been assessed as replacement is planned. Any plans to retain the facility in the long term would likely include replacing pool tanks, replacing and upgrading the plant to current standards, renewing and redrilling the bore and these renewals would not address the dated customer experience. A full condition assessment of all assets would be required to allow these works to be scoped and costed. 

• Given the limited remaining asset life, a run-to-failure approach has been adopted on the basis that full replacement of the facility has been planned and budgeted by Council.

Short-Term Investment Required to Maintain Operations 

• An investment of approximately $80-100k would be required to address major leaks, pipework and heating issues. 

• This would likely extend the facility’s life by only one to two seasons. 

• It would not address the underlying plant or structural deterioration and would not improve the visual presentation of the facility. 

• This represents poor value if the replacement facility proceeds.

Long-Term Solution – Replacement Facility 

• The long-term solution is the development of the Memorial Park Aquatic Centre as a modern replacement facility. 

• We acknowledge and agree that the history of the site should be honoured. We are supportive of the amendment to the Council resolution around honouring the history of the site. We are keen to ensure that the new facility is clearly connected to the memorial legacy, supported through things like signage, memorabilia and appropriate imagery.