Woden Pool has never made money, according to former long-time manager John Raut. Photo: Geocon.
More people equals more customers which, in turn, equals more money, right?
It’s a metric that means a 50-metre pool in Woden could pay for itself within 25 years – or much sooner than originally thought.
Since developer Geocon announced its plans for the site of the Phillip Pool and Ice Skating Centre, they’ve been met by fierce opposition from locals.
While the DA is yet to be approved by the ACT Government, it would see the existing 50-metre outdoor pool and indoor ice-skating rink replaced by two massive residential towers with a public indoor aquatic centre – including 25-metre pool – at their base.
Anymore than this, the ACT Government argued, doesn’t make financial sense.
Earlier this year, the government cited “numerous planning studies” which showed 50-metre pools are “generally only feasible and/or financially viable where there is a dedicated population catchment of 70,000 to 100,000 people”.
“Some of these inter-jurisdictional studies also highlight the significant additional capital cost associated with the construction of a 50-metre pool over a 25-metre pool, and that the maintenance and operational costs are exponentially higher,” it added.
However, the situation may have changed this week with the release of new population projections (ostensibly to account for planning rule changes expected to result in more townhouses than originally planned).
It’s now estimated Canberra will be home to half a million people by 2027, 700,000 by 2050, and 800,000 by 2065.
Woden Valley is now expected to be home to 85,000 people by 2065. Image: ACT Government.
Three areas are forecast to grow much faster than previously expected too, with Tuggeranong – far from plateauing – reaching close to 200,000 people by 2065, Weston Creek reaching 37,000 and Woden Valley reaching 85,000.
This means a 50-metre pool would be viable for Woden by 2050 at the earliest, when the district’s population hits 70,000.
According to John Raut, who managed the pool for decades, this would be a first.
He says the most money the pool ever turned over in its life was more than 10 years ago, when it turned over $270,000, and it’s been downhill ever since.
“Outdoor 50-metre pools do not make money,” he says.
“You get your small group of 10 to 15 regulars in the morning … but I went through a stage of taking a photo at the hottest time of each day during the season, and there’d be one or two people in it.
“And you look at the numbers: you take $200,000, but it costs you $100,000 or more to open for the season, in insurance, chemicals, energy, staff.
“We never made any money.”
Save Phillip Pool group member Louise Raisin agrees the Woden pool is currently used by only a few regulars every day during the season, along with the Vikings Swim Club, which trains competition-level swimming “some mornings” every week. The Telopea Swimming Club also used to go there, until it folded a few years ago.
“We don’t know the numbers, but there’s a steady stream of people coming and going,” Ms Raisin says.
“Like on a Sunday morning, it’s quite busy. The lanes are full. You get three to four people in a lane, and there are eight lanes.”
But she also adds it’s not about the money.
“That’s a null argument, because 50-metre pools aren’t a money-making thing. They’re a community facility and a community asset.”
An artist’s impression of the new Geocon towers, with the public aquatic centre on the ground floor. Photo: Geocon.
A 2021 report by Royal Life Saving Australia found the average aquatic facility creates $2.72 million a year in “value to the community”, a figure arrived at through the cost to the Australian health system every year through death, disease and disability associated with “insufficient physical activity” – $3.7 billion.
The report claims a weekly visit to a pool is estimated to take most people out of this “physically inactive” category.
“As a result of health benefits, every aquatic facility visit creates economic benefits worth an average of $26.39 in addition to the leisure value gained by users,” it concludes.
Apart from Geocon’s plans, Save Phillip Pool has advocated for the government to look elsewhere in Woden to construct a new 50-metre pool, such as in Eddison Park – something the government has also ruled out.
“It’s not about how much it costs to run,” Ms Raisin adds.
“It’s about what the community benefits are. We’ve already lost the basketball stadium, we’ve lost the 50-metre pool in Deakin, we’ve lost the 10-pin bowling alley.
“We need facilities for all these people who are living there now because there are so many apartments.”
