Pool Facility ready to make a Splash
Work on “DG One @ Ice Bowl” is very near to completion ahead of the opening of the Swimming Pool on Monday 6 October. The pool, opening whilst remedial works are carried out at DG One Leisure Complex, is situated on the site of the Ice Bowl in King Street, in Dumfries.
The swimming pool is 25 metres long and has 5 lanes. At 1.2 metres deep throughout, the state of the art facility is of adequate size to fulfil all the requirements of swimmers during the closure of DG One.
The Pool will be used for swimming lessons as well as public swimming. It will also be used by swimming clubs and by primary and secondary schools’ for their swimming programmes. During the build of the facility on the Ice Bowl site, the Council has engaged with swimming clubs and groups to make the facility meet their needs as much as possible. The pool and changing village has a capacity of 80, meaning there will be plenty of space for people to paddle around, perfect their front crawl or beat their best time for 20 lengths. The facility is also fully DDA compliant and features a fully accessible disabled changing area in addition to the 2 Changing Villages.
Dumfries and Galloway Council Leader Ronnie Nicholson spoke highly of the facility. He said; “This facility is terrific for the region. As soon as you walk through the door you feel you are in a state of the art swimming area. The pool is a good size, there are super changing areas available, particularly accessible for families due to the communal nature of them. The facility will allow current customers of DG One to keep up their swimming activity, be it a family swim on a weekend to competitive Club Swimming every day. Our Council committed to provide this facility and, like the Loreburn Hall, I look forward to seeing people in them, using them and having fun. I am confident both facilities will be a success and I will be in the queue on Monday 6 October to give the new pool a go.”
The Pool is situated to the left hand side of Dumfries Ice Bowl. Concerns over lack of parking for both facilities have been eradicated due to the Council reaching an agreement with Queen of the South FC. Users of the Pool facility can park in the Queen of the South Arena car park (former Tesco site) and walk through the refurbished walkway to the Pool. The walkway has been fitted with new streetlights to enhance public safety and make the short walk from the car park to the Pool more user-friendly.
Chairman of Community and Customer Services Committee, Councillor Tom McAughtrie said of the facility; “I am very impressed with this facility. There is a remarkable amount of space inside the building, considering it hosts a 25 metre pool, 2 changing villages and showering areas as well as a reception and toilets. The layout is fantastic and I believe the Council’s decision to put in place a facility such as this will be fully vindicated. I would encourage everyone to come in for a swim from 6 October and see for themselves the quality of facility the people of Dumfries and Galloway have here.”
The facility opens its doors to the public on Monday 6 October. Timetable information is available by visiting www.dgone.co.uk
