Councillors approve €5m swimming pool for Dunmanway
BY ÁILÍN QUINLAN
A NEW €5 million public swimming pool for Dunmanway is now in sight after councillors this week gave it the green light, allowing it to advance to the planning stage.
It will be located in a modern green building which will also feature a toddlers’ pool and provision for office space, a gymnasium and cafeteria.
The new pool, which, if it gets planning permission, is expected to be ready by 2014, will be built on the site of the existing children’s playground.
Meanwhile a new ‘children’s activity zone’ with new equipment will be located at a site on the eastern side of the access road to complement the recently installed outdoor gym, explained Cllr Declan Hurley, outgoing chairman of the western division of Cork County Council.
‘The existing swimming pool will continue to be available to the public while the new development is being built, and afterwards it will be demolished,’ he said, adding that while the new pool would be the same size as its predecessor, the proposed complex also boasted a hydrotherapy pool, the first of its kind in the county.
‘There will also be a gym as well as a sauna and a steam-room along with a cafeteria,’ he said, adding that the new complex would be a ‘big asset’ for Dunmanway.
‘It’s a long-awaited development for the town and I would be satisfied that this news represents a significant move forward and shows the firm commitment of Cork County Council to progress the re-development of the pool.’
The move, which came at the statutory annual meeting of the western Division of Cork County Council, has also been welcomed by Labour TD Michael McCarthy, who said that significant progress had been made in the project, with confirmation that part eight of the planning process has been concluded.
‘I am delighted that the swimming pool is reaching the final stages of the planning process. The swimming pool in Dunmanway has been long overdue an upgrade. For generations this project has been neglected and I am delighted as the local TD to be working towards this local milestone.’
‘Councillors at today's western committee meeting of Cork County Council are expected to refer it to next week's full meeting of Cork County Council for approval and I am urging all councillors to support it. Already the project has been ring-fenced for a grant of €3.8 million by the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, so it is vital that this gets the support it needs at a local level. This will see the culmination of many years of hard work on my behalf and of the community of Dunmanway’.
