It was the end of an era on Monday when truck load after truck load of shingle was emptied into the former Tinwald Pool.
On social media, many lamented the end of the pool, where they had happy memories of swimming outdoors.
The Tinwald Reserve Board has begun the first stage of a project to turn the facility, dating back to the 1950s, into a family play and picnic area. It will retain the buildings, picnic tables and external fencing.
Chair and district councillor Leen Braam agreed it was a sad day, but said it was not feasible to spend $3 million upgrading the facility, when so few swimmers used it in summer.
Braam said stage one involved breaking up the bottom of the pool and filling it with shingle, expected to be finished this week.
“The second stage will involve creating a playground for younger children, and we’ve got plans to install large jumping pillows in the pool cavity.”
Braam said the board was undertaking and paying for stage one from its own budget.
“We really did need to do something with the empty pool from a health and safety point of view and so the reserve board has gone ahead with stage one.
“We’ll be talking with council, showing them our plans for stage two and seeking their final approval for the development in the next few months.’’
The board informally consulted with the community last year on future uses of the site.
This followed the district council deciding not to go ahead with a Long Term Plan option to save the pool.
