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DEVELOPMENT » Naylor Love - Huia Pool
October 2016 Business Central
New pools will meet growing demand Karen Phelps Big visitor increases in the 12 months to June this year have shown the importance of the addition of the new pools at Huia to meet growing demand from the community, says Hutt City Council divisional manager Marcus Sherwood. Lower Hutt’s six swimming pools set a new record in popularity over 12 months with over 1 million visits. The biggest increases were at the Huia and Naenae pools, with a jump of 12.5 per cent at Huia Pool alone. Work on the expansion of Huia Pool began in May and is due to be completed by July 2017. The development will see the Huia Pool complex in Lower Hutt’s CBD essentially double in size. The facility will contain two new pools, one for Learn to Swim and another for programmes, including hydrotherapy. Recently 630,000 litres of concrete were poured to form the foundation layer and the building’s framework is already taking shape. Hutt City Council Facilities Manager Stephen Keatley says that the latest figures have shown growth in all areas but particularly in programmes. A dedicated Learn to Swim pool will help to meet the growing numbers of residents taking part in the Council’s Learn to Swim programmes, while a hydrotherapy pool will fill the need for therapeutic facilities in the community, he says. “There is a growing demand for learn-to-swim classes, with a waiting list of more than 1000, ranging from toddlers to adults. “This is why one of the two new pools will be used for learn-to-swim lessons,” says Stephen.
Looking flash: an artist’s impression of the building to house two new pools.
“The second, a programme pool, will meet some of the hydrotherapy needs of the disabled, elderly and people recovering from injuries, which currently isn’t available in the Hutt Valley,” he says.
Steel beams were up by August for the new building that will house the two new pools.
“Two more pools will make the entire complex an even better place for fun and exercise making it accessible for many more residents.” Deputy Mayor David Bassett says it will give many more residents access to the complex. “The nearest hydrotherapy pool for Lower Hutt residents is 19 kilometres away in Wellington. “The new programme pool will give residents access to hydrotherapy on their doorstep. “This has benefits for injury and other rehabilitation, the elderly and other users with particular needs.” Council is making a significant investment in the complex. It was in the 2014 Community Plan that the Council approved a project budget of $6.072 million, and included another $1.728m in its draft Long Term Community Plan. Due to extra geotechnical requirements a further $1.5 million was added to the budget in early 2016. The development will also include a dry fitness space. The development will also free up space in the two existing pools in the complex by moving swim lessons to the new pool allowing for more recreational and play swimming space on weekday afternoons and Saturday and Sunday mornings.
School swimming and all other aquatic activities will still be catered for in the existing two pools. Construction on the project started in midMay and by July enough concrete to fill 108 concrete trucks had been poured. It follows the removal of more than 2800 cubic metres of dirt from the site. Along with 2.45 tonnes of steel, the concrete has been used to create a foundation layer raft slab to help support where the two new pools will be placed. The new building is now quickly taking shape above ground level, with the main steel beams in place. Project partners include Architecture HDT, project managers and quantity surveyors RDT Pacific, structural and services engineers Opus and Naylor Love. Stephen Keatley says ratepayers will be impressed when the pools open. “Huia Pool is already popular with many groups, including workers in the CBD, schools and families. “Two more pools will make the entire complex an even better place for fun and exercise making it accessible for many more residents.”
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