A meeting of Redcar & Cleveland Councillors yesterday, April 15, agreed to a motion to immediately start work to provide a new swimming pool for Eston that is fit for the future, meets the needs of local communities and provides high-quality swimming and leisure services close to where people live.
A recent independent structural report highlighted that repairing Eston pool would be neither financially or structurally viable.
The structural inspection, by Billinghurst George & Partners of Stockton, found that significant deterioration of the building had taken place over the years and substantial works would be necessary to refurbish the pool building. The work would involve extensive work to the structure of the building wh nich would be expensive and potentially only last up to 10 years.
The report concluded that due to the condition of the building as well as the cost and limited design life of the repairs it might be more feasible to demolish the building and construct a new pool building.
The agreed motion, which was passed by Redcar & Cleveland Council, is “This Council believes that swimming baths are not a luxury but a necessity for the health, fitness and well-being of all our communities. As a recent report shows that repairing Eston baths is neither structurally or financially viable, this Council agrees to immediately start work to provide a new Eston swimming baths that is fit for the future, meets the needs of local communities and provides high-quality swimming and leisure services close to where people live."
A structural inspection report of Eston Leisure Centre, by Billinghurst George & Partners of Stockton, was carried out on the 18th and 24th March 2021 at the request of the Council. The structural engineers were asked to undertake a visual inspection of the structure and building fabric of the centre and prepare a report recommending remedial work or other work that was appropriate.