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POOL MANAGER’S COUNCIL DROPS LEGAL DISPUTE
A council has settled a lengthy legal dispute with a
millionaire businessman over claims it breached a secret contract to shut one of its swimming pools.
The out of court settlement between Stoke-on-Trent City Council and Mo Chaudry, owner of the city’s Waterworld attraction, follows three years of speculation about whether senior council figures offered Mr Chaudry £100,000 a year to take in swimmers affected by the planned pool closure.
WATER MONITORING PRODUCT TOPS US LIST A new ePool monitor which communicates pool or spa water problems and suggests solutions to save time and keep the pool environment healthy is one of the products of the year on the US market – chosen by the industry itself. It is designed to take the place of test strips and drops, combining scientific analytical sensor technology, wireless communications and integrated intelligence to determine ideal chemical parameters.
See
www.game-group.com for further information.
POOL TILES PROBLEM A flagship swimming pool in southern Scotland has called in specialist surveyors to establish the cause of repeated faults. Problems with swimming pool tiles surfaced earlier this year prompting an investigation into the cause. It is the latest in a string of issues at the £17m DG One leisure complex in Dumfries. Further surveys are now required which could shut “parts or all of the facility” over the coming months.
IndustryNews DEC 2011 SPN
5559
ISPE CELEBRATES MILESTONE OF 100TH ONE-DAY SEMINAR
The Watermill Hotel, Hemel Hempstead was the venue for the Institute of Swimming Pool Engineers’ 100th one-day seminar which also saw Howard Gosling take over as ISPE president from Alan Pugh.
The meeting started in a light- hearted manner with industry stalwarts talking about: “What I wish I had known when I came into the industry”. Amongst those who spoke was John Asher, who paid tribute to Peter Geekie and Bob Kent as early advisors who set him on the right road. Ian Betts, who remembered how non-customers would arrive at his pool centre and settle down to enjoy a nice picnic around his display pools.
Other subjects included were how the internet is affecting all businesses; in both positive and negative ways. Much discussion took place regarding changes in the European standards that are soon to become norms – and the importance of those norms being put together by experts in the UK industry.
Problems in pool water testing and how to overcome them was explained by Tintometer’s Colin Day and filtration expert Chris Carr gave helpful tips on completing the level 1 Filtration Exam Paper.
The 2011 ISPE Awards were then presented to the newly qualified technicians. The coveted Garside Cup for Student of the Year and the Jim Johnson Filtration Shield were
New ISPE President Howard Gosling with John Epton
LEFT TO RIGHT: Peter Lang, Selwyn Mindel, Howard Gosling, Norman Mindel and John Asher
both awarded to Asher Pools Contract Manager John Upton. The first ISPE seminar took place in Battle, East Sussex in 1981 and since then the Institute has grown to become the industry’s educational leading light and a force that consistently strives to
ensure all students receive the best of training courses at extremely competitive rates.
i FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
F ISPE ( 01603 499959 :
www.ispe.co.uk
NEW STRATEGY HELPS TO SAVE SWIMMING POOL
The introduction of a climbing wall has saved a swimming pool that was threatened with closure.
The move by a Harlech pool to diversify is being seen as a cameo for a number of pools threatened with closure. Gwynedd council said it could no longer afford to run the pool. Now Community Company Harlech and Ardudwy Leisure, which runs the pool, has gone a step further with the wall and a refurbished café. It believes the 34ft wall will be an all-weather attraction for families and
seasoned climbers and bring people in to enjoy the swimming facilities too. Richard Holland, one of five volunteers who run the not-for-profit company, said not many swimming pools make a profit these days and it became clear they needed to diversify to attract more users and income. “It’s just a question of getting people in and seeing there is a swimming pool as well. We now have a climbing wall and a bouldering wall next to the swimming pool, with a cafe and terrace overlooking Harlech
Castle. It has certainly lifted the awareness of the pool,” he said. He said: “The money for the walls had come from £500,000 capital funding from the Big Lottery, and a £300,000 revenue grant from the assembly government.
“The main climbing wall is suitable for novices right up to being pretty challenging for professional climbers.” There was an outcry after the council said in 2007 that Harlech pool had “reached the end of its life” and closing it would save £160,000 a year.
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