Askeaton Pool is to close for a 12-month period to carry out significant necessary plant room works, majority owner Limerick City and County Council has confirmed to the Weekly Observer.
This will happen on March 16th, with the adjoining gym to follow suit in August.
The year-long closure of Askeaton Pool and Leisure Centre is necessary to allow for improvement works on the plant room which has been impacted on numerous occasions by flooding from the tidal River Deel, particularly when adverse weather conditions are experienced.
Part-funding of €650,000 has been sourced from the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media under its Large-Scale Infrastructure Fund. The local authority will manage the Flood Alleviation Project.
A statement from Limerick City and Council stated: “The leisure centre has become an integral part of community life and the current investment is required to protect the future of the facility from flooding risk. Significant remedial works are required to protect the plant room and the leisure centre.  These remedial works will require an estimated 12-month period of closure of the Leisure Centre swimming pool for health and safety reasons.  During this period of closure, the flood alleviation works will be scheduled and carried out.”
It continued: “During the closure period [joint owners] the Board of Askeaton Pool and Leisure DAC will engage with the project managers, Limerick City and County Council, to ensure the plant room flood alleviation works are completed on a timely basis, plan to renew the main reception area, and use the opportunity to carry out other internal and external maintenance of the Leisure Centre to prepare it for reopening in 2024.
“We would like to thank the current operators Coral Leisure and their staff for all of their service since 2007.  The Board would also like to thank all suppliers and patrons of the Leisure Centre and look forward to welcoming them back to the reopened swimming pool in 2024 when the refurbished centre will be fully reopened for the benefit of the local communities in the town of Askeaton and surrounding region.”
However, Askeaton Swimming Club stated: “The impact of closing the pool on the area would be huge. Our club wants the impact of these necessary works minimised, rather than a resource taken away from the area entirely.
“The preferred approach by the club is to keep the pool and centre open while necessary works occur on a phased basis. There is a major concern that if the pool closes, it will never reopen.”