The council is set to ends its deal with an operator after “serious health and safety risks” were found at a leisure centre which has an uncertain future amid the need for multi-million pound repair costs.
Council officers visited Daisyfield Pool in Blackburn on August 4 and completed a report which “highlighted numerous issues with the condition of the building and the operation of the centre”.
It was discovered that the problems at the Daisy Lane facility, which has been run by community group HALF Fish HQ since 2016, “presented a risk to the health and safety of staff and customers at the pool”.
Multiple cracked or missing tiles were found in the pool area along with “numerous leaks” in the roof with water outside making its way into the building when it rained.
Tests also found “pools were inadequately disinfected” and there was an “unacceptably low levels of chlorine in the pools which should have prompted swimming to be suspended”.
A few months earlier in May, positive samples of harmful bacteria legionella were found in the water.
Following the report last month, the council closed the facility on Saturday, August 19 on the “grounds of health and safety”.
A council report, prepared for the council’s executive member for public health, prevention and wellbeing, Cllr Damian Talbot, ahead of the executive board meeting on Thursday, September 7, said: “The health and safety risks were serious and if they had gone unchecked, they could have led to serious injury or fatality.”
Concerns over the state of the building have also been aired.
A building conditions survey has been published which provides a budget estimate in excess of £3.1m plus VAT for repairs and maintenance to “keep the facility and building operational for the short term only”.
Cllr Talbot’s report recommends for the board to approve the continuation of the pool closure based on serious health and safety failures pending the outcome of a consultation and to terminate the “existing arrangements” with HALF Fish at the site.
He has also proposed for a consultation in relation to the future use of the building, which is said to be “at the end of its effective lifecycle”, and the impact on current users of the facility.
The report added: “The continuation and longer-term closure of the Daisyfield swimming pool will impact existing users of the facility.
“However, this can be accommodated at Blackburn Leisure Centre which is based near the town centre and has modern swimming pool facilities and access to low cost refresh swimming sessions.”
HALF Fish has been approached for a comment about the report.
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