Geocon confirms Phillip pool will reopen in time for summer

In a letter to the Woden Valley Community Council on Thursday, Geocon boss Nick Georgalis said the pool would re-open at "the beginning of November" and remain open until "the end of March".

It is the first time Geocon has confirmed the swimming pool facility will re-open to the public since purchasing the lease for the site late last year.

Mr Georgalis also said in the brief letter that pool would be open for all public holidays during the season, except for Christmas Day.

The opening hours will be Monday to Friday 6am to 7pm and Saturday and Sunday 7am to 6pm.

The community has been fighting for answers on the future of the pool since its previous long-term owners received an exemption in the 2021-22 summer to do maintenance work.

The pool also remained closed during the 2022-23 summer as the lease changed hands.

A Geocon spokeswoman said "Geocon has been working extremely hard on the rectification works on the pool since we bought the site in December last year in order to open the pool back up to the Phillip and wider Canberra community for summer".

The Phillip Swimming and Ice Skating Centre comprises a 50-metre pool, smaller children's pool and a baby wading pool as well as the indoor ice rink.

The future of the facility looks to be tied to the construction of a new ice skating rink in Tuggeranong.

The ACT government says under the new Territory Plan, any redevelopment of the Phillip pool site "will be required to provide, at a minimum, a publicly accessible indoor eight-lane 25 metre pool and associated amenities and facilities".

The new Territory Plan also has a requirement for "an ice-skating rink suitable for national competitions". That was included in the mandatory assessment requirements in the Woden District Policy in the new plan.

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The government has, meanwhile, put its support behind a $50 million ice sports facility to be opened in Tuggeranong in 2025.

Woden Valley Community Council president Fiona Carrick said she believed Geocon would meet the conditions of its lease at Phillip until the Tuggeranong ice rink was opened and then build units with a smaller pool on the site.

"What incentive is there for Geocon to invest in the pool site?" she said. "We want sail shades and barbecues and fun for the kids and bindies out of the grass."

She said a new aquatic centre should be built north of the Phillip athletics track and be part of a bigger conversation around social infrastructure for Woden.

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