The swimming pool at Alsager Leisure Centre was closed for much of this week as attempts to repair the heating system continued.
The pool has been closed intermittently for the last fortnight because the correct water temperature could not be maintained. This led to the cancellation of swimming lessons, at short notice for some, while other swimmers have missed out on their regular sessions.
As the disruption continued during the arrival of freezing temperatures, Everybody Health and Leisure, the charitable trust that runs the premises on behalf of Cheshire East Council, issued refunds for missed lessons.
The problem with pressure in the heating system, the boilers for which are shared between the leisure centre and adjoining Alsager School, appeared to have been rectified by last Tuesday.
But lessons were cancelled again on Saturday due to a drop in pool temperature.
Then a social media post issued by the leisure centre first thing on Tuesday said the early morning swimming session had been cancelled.
Everybody members were emailed mid-morning to be told that “unfortunately” the pool would be closed from Wednesday (yesterday) afternoon and all day Thursday (today) for some “essential” work, which would involve the school’s heating contractors draining the heating system.
It said that other facilities such as the gym, fitness classes and the sports hall would remain open. “However, please note that there will be no heating or hot water available after 3.30pm on Wednesday,” the update added.
In a further update on Tuesday afternoon, Everybody said: “The recent cold weather and increased heating demand from the school had caused the pool to fall below the guide temperature set out by the Pool Water Treatment Advisory Group,” and that the pool would be closed until tomorrow (Friday).
Everybody thanked members for their “continued patience while we fix this issue”.
An email has been sent to those affected by the cancelled swimming lessons.
In it, Danny Murphy, Everybody’s swim lead, explained: “The leisure centre and Alsager School share the same boilers, and over the last couple of weeks there has been an issue with them not getting enough pressure to heat both the leisure centre and the school.
“This means, although we are getting some heat into the building, we are struggling to maintain a temperature in the pool and pool side to where it would be above the recommendations for swimming lessons and comfortable for your children to learn to swim. It is also affecting our showers and hot water to other parts of the building.
“This is something we haven’t experienced before, and we are still having to react to what is happening in the pool over the course of the day, which is why some of the cancellations are later notice than others.”
The email added: “The safety and wellbeing of your children is our highest priority, and cancelling their lessons is not something we take lightly, but it is in the best interest for your children.
“We are working with the school to resolve this as soon as we are able to and until then we will inform you as soon as we can if lessons are cancelled.”
The email continued: “We appreciate your support during this time and will keep refunding the lesson’s that your children are missing.”
Affected by this? Write us a letter!
