Wanaka’s former swimming pool on Plantation Road closed three years ago and, although the pool building remains, the pool’s surrounding land has not been left vacant.

Mount Aspiring College (MAC) is in the process of transforming the site with relocatable buildings to house changing rooms and classrooms while the school’s major building development programme, announced last year, is underway. 

“The swimming pool site is critical for the future development of the school site,” MAC principal Nicola Jacobsen said.

Development of the pool site is in addition to MAC’s $33.5M government funded building programme, which includes a two storey, 10-metre tall classroom block, to accommodate an additional 300 students, 28 new teaching spaces, including rooms for music, drama, art and theatre, and a library; and 33 new car parks.

“Once the first stage of the new build is complete, we hope that further development of the school site can continue, utilising the old swimming pool area,” Nicola told the Wanaka App.

Relocatable changing sheds and classrooms have been added alongside the former community swimming pool (the long building on the right). 

Wanaka’s former community swimming pool, which was deemed to be earthquake prone and had undergone strengthening, was closed on June 9 2018, a day before the new swimming pool at Wanaka’s Recreation Centre was opened.

The old pool and accompanying parking area was built on recreation reserve but when the pool closed the Ministry of Education (MoE), on behalf of MAC, applied to the Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) for a licence to occupy the pool land while the main college area was being redeveloped.

Given its proximity to MAC, the MoE has “expressed interest in acquiring the site from council”, QLDC property and infrastructure general manager Peter Hansby said.

The main pool building may need to be demolished in the future to accommodate more temporary buildings but, to date, MoE hasn’t made an application to demolish it, he said. 

The Wanaka community and other stakeholders would be involved in discussions regarding permission for any future development of the site, Peter said.

PHOTO: Wanaka App