PROJECT SHOWCASE
A Pool With A View And The Midas Touch
Salcombe Estuary, Devon
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ewton Abbot pool specialists, Westcountry Leisure, struck gold at the British Pool & Hot Tub Awards 2017 with this magnificent pool in Devon. Built on the side of a cliff overlooking a bay in the Salcombe estuary, the pool is fully loaded with equipment from Certikin. The client, a keen swimmer, wanted a pool for all year round use with a deep swimming lane plus a shallow end for his children. The large linear pool had to sit within the confines of the area to the back of the house and embrace its mature and natural surroundings. Using a terrace where a large ornamental pond was sited, the pool is an impressive 22m x 5m and complements the surrounding architectural features. The pool required planning permission as it is in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the house is Grade II listed. The owners were keen to ensure the project did not have any detrimental impact on the existing building. Westcountry Leisure put together drawings and a specification to satisfy the local authority, which duly granted permission. Once the pool area had been excavated to the required depths, a structural engineer inspected it and, due to failure of the compaction
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tests, further excavation was required. Managing Director of Westcountry Leisure, Mark Gilpin said: “Our initial survey was based upon a surface inspection of the site and even though we carried out two trial holes before commencement, the extra works didn’t become apparent until the majority of the dig had been carried out. It was certainly a challenging job and not one for those with a fear of heights!” Access to the site was completely restricted on three sides with only a small, single vehicular access possible between the trees. To improve access, Westcountry removed the existing retaining wall between the upper and lower terrace to enable the shuttered concrete pool to be constructed. The existing York stone terrace was carefully removed prior to excavation for recycling, to help the pool blend in. The stones, some of which weighed over 500kg each, were cleaned, sorted, re-cut and re-laid as coping stones, pit lids for the automatic cover chamber and cappings for a new stone-faced retaining wall constructed on top of and flush with the pool wall. The inside of the pool is lined with 1200mm x 600mm slate-
www.swimmingpoolnews.co.uk 27/05/2017 13:16