Select a region
The States of Alderney are exploring the viability of building a community leisure centre, which would revisit the long gestating swimming pool again.
Work on an indoor swimming pool was halted in 2016 due to a lack of funds, despite £500,000 being raised between the Alderney Community and Sports Centre charitable trust (ACSC) and a grant by the government.
The most recent update came courtesy of a meeting of the Policy and Finance Committee. A report by States member Bill Abel – who is working on the Community Sports and Swimming Pool project – was discussed.
The minutes state: “In January of 2022 a letter of recommendation was presented to the Policy and Finance Committee and sent to the Guernsey Education Committee.
“The concept was accepted by P&R, but still no reply has been received from the Guernsey Education Committee.
“The letter recommended that Alderney commission a project manager to consider all alternatives for the Alderney Swimming Pool and Sports Facilities, determine the capital and operating costs, and prepare a detailed Economic Investment proposal.”
Despite hearing nothing from ‘Guernsey’s Education Committee’ it appears that Alderney is pushing forward with scoping out the project anyway.
It has now been announced that two longstanding projects have enough overlap to be able to be combined. The Community Sports and Swimming Pool Complex fell under Mr Abel’s remit, while a new Family and Children’s Centre project was being led by Ian Carter.
Both members made submissions to move these projects forward said the States of Alderney, and after review and discussion the Policy and Finance Committee agreed that the projects overlapped and that the evaluations should be based on a combined scope of work.
The Policy and Finance Committee has now agreed that proposals be sought from consultants to “appraise the viability of the project[s]” together. This includes scoping out any potential sites and funding requirements.
In a statement, Mr Abel said:
“The new project scope will assess outdoor as well as indoor swimming pools. It will assess whether we can afford a Community Sports Hall and pools or a pool-only option, both in terms of capital and running costs, and also whether a Family/Children’s centre can be included.
“The new project will assess the affordability of the combined, split or partial provision of the facilities in terms of capital and operating costs.
“A key consideration is the location of these facilities as they may compete for the same space, as well as considering whether they can be situated adjacent to each other.
“As the facilities will have relevance to education, the project team will need to consult with Guernsey’s Committees for Education, Sport and Culture; Health and Social Care and Guernsey Civil Service.
“In addition, the States of Alderney will continue to engage with both the Alderney Community and Sports Centre (ACSC) Charitable Trust and the Alderney Sports Foundation (ASF).”
Comments
Comments on this story express the views of the commentator only, not Bailiwick Publishing. We are unable to guarantee the accuracy of any of those comments.