Pool workers back in deep end after tiling blunder

May 22 2008 by Liam Murphy, Liverpool Daily Post

The swimming Pool at the Bebington Oval _320

TILES in a refurbished Wirral swimming pool had to be ripped out and replaced after it was realised they marked out five lanes instead of six.

The mistake was noticed just before the Oval in Bebington was due to re-open – months late and almost a year since the popular pool was closed to the public.

Wirral Council cabinet member for culture, Cllr Bob Moon, admitted it was an embarrassing mistake for the authority.

He said: “Just as we were about to announce it was due to re-open and someone realised there were five lanes instead of six.

“We had asked the Amateur Swimming Association for guidance and they had given us specifications – but we had never considered increasing the tank size of the pool.

“The problem was noticed just as the tiles were curing and we had to make a decision.”

He said to have left the pool with five lanes would have limited its use for swimming competition so they decided to make the change.

A council spokesman said they could not reveal details of how much the mistake will cost because negotiations are ongoing, although he said the total cost is in the “tens of thousands, rather than hundreds of thousands”.

It is expected to delay work on the Oval’s refurbishment by around a week, although the scheme is already months behind schedule.

It is said the mistake does not mean they will have to replace all tiles from the pool, but only those marking the lanes.

The Oval closed in June 2007 and was originally scheduled to re-open in March following the refurbishment scheme which totalled more than £2m.

It is now anticipated it will be open to the public again “within weeks”.

The council spokesman said: “Part of the work being undertaken at the Oval is the refurbishment of the swimming pool.

“While this refurbishment work was taking place, an issue arose concerning new guidance from the Amateur Swimming Association dictating lane-width, which resulted in five lanes initially being tiled into the pool floor.

“Once it became clear that six lanes were needed in order for the pool to accommodate competition swimming, a decision was taken to rectify this mistake, causing a regrettable delay and additional costs to the project.

“However, this remedial work is now at an advanced stage and we look forward to the pool – and the sports centre as a whole – reopening very soon.”

liammurphy