Market Drayton swimming pools to close for urgent leak repair

Shropshire Council announced the temporary closure, which will affect both the main pool and the learner pool, to allow engineers full access to the pool hall and surrounding tank area to investigate the cause of the water loss.

The principal source of the leak is currently believed to be from underground pipework near the main pool tank. The facility will remain closed "until further notice," as the council works to fully identify the extent of the damage and carry out the necessary repairs.

£230,000 Expected Repair Bill

The cost of the repair work is provisionally estimated at around £230,000, which will be drawn from the council’s capital budget. Councillor James Owen, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for leisure services, stressed the urgency of the situation.

"Closing the pools is obviously something we don’t want to do, but the main pool is losing a significant amount of water and this can’t continue," said Councillor Owen. "We urgently need to find out why and what we need to do to fix it."

He noted that as the pool is an older facility, the final cost could be significant, stating, "While we won’t know the exact cost of the repair work until we do further investigations, we are expecting it to be significant. It’s an older pool so there may be more to it than repairing the pipework."

Councillor Owen provided assurance that the closure is only temporary. "The pool is an important facility to the council, and I can reassure everybody this temporary closure to complete essential work does not mean it will face total closure."

Alternative Arrangements for Swimmers

While the pools are out of action, the gym and gym-floor-based workout programme at the Market Drayton centre will remain open. Shropshire Community Leisure Trust, which operates the centre, will be contacting all members, clubs, and schools directly to discuss alternative arrangements.

"The centre is an extremely popular facility, receiving hundreds of swim visits from various user groups each week," said Peter Davis, Shropshire Council’s leisure services manager. "We are conscious that closing the swimming pools will be inconvenient and our contractors will be working hard to find the root cause, repair and re-open as soon as they can."

Rhys Collins, Shropshire Community Leisure Trust’s partnership manager, confirmed efforts are being made to minimise disruption for local user groups.

"We are currently working to provide schools with access to other swimming centres, notably at Whitchurch and the Quarry in Shrewsbury, for them to fulfil their statutory swimming requirements," said Mr Collins. "Pool sessions at Whitchurch will also be made available, where possible, to allow the swimming club based at Market Drayton to continue swimming during the closure period."

The public is encouraged to use Quarry Swimming & Fitness Centre in Shrewsbury or Whitchurch Swimming and Fitness Centre, which only opened in March this year, while the Market Drayton pools undergo repair.