Report on Glenalbyn pool recommends new €10m facility

A review of the options for the future of south Dublin’s Glenalbyn Swimming Pool has recommended a new pool and additional facilities be developed on a different site adjacent to the N11 in Stillorgan.

The option of relocating to a new site at a cost of €10 million was deemed more attractive than repairing the existing swimming pool, with fewer extra facilities, at an estimated cost of €5million.

Moving site was also considered more attractive than spending €10 million on a new pool and expanded facilities on the existing Glenalbyn site.

The proposed new site is the current home of Stillorgan Library, adjacent to the Stillorgan Leisureplex near the N11 road.

The review said the advantage of this site was that it could provide for a new pool with expanded ancillary services such as sports or community rooms, as well as a redeveloped library, in a “community campus”.

The report, Multi-Criteria Analysis for New Pool in Stillorgan, was prepared by local councillors with assistance from council staff and DKM economic consultants.

It found a pool with an expanded range of facilities had the best chance of being viable, which effectively ruled out refurbishing the old pool due to the limited space for extra facilities.

GAA club

The review group is understood to have been influenced by a letter from Kilmacud Crokes GAA Club, owners of the car park and lands around the existing pool, stating its objections to a new build on the Glenalbyn site.

Kilmacud Crokes said the “key consideration” for its its 4,500 members was that its own facilities would continue to be accessible. The club said it had “significant concerns” about the development of a new, enlarged facility on site, as the usage of this could conflict with it given the restricted space available.

The report says the option of moving to a new site offered improved accessibility, an expanded range of facilities, scope for the development of “a community campus” incorporating the library and potential for the existing pool site to be used by the community perhaps as a playing pitch.

Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown council cathaoirleach Barry Saul, who represents the Stillorgan area, said the recommendations had cross party support from councillors.

He said there would be four weeks of public consultation and public meetings on the matter to allow alternative views to be expressed. The community needed to engage in a process of familiarisation with the options available and would ultimatley have the final say, he said.

Glenalbyn Swimming Pool closed suddenly in December 2013 after a health and safety report noted serious concerns in relation to the roof of the swimming pool. Councillors subsequently ring-fenced €10 million to repair or rebuild the facility. A report earlier this year concluded that spending €10 million to reopen the existing pool may not represent the best value for money.

The latest report will be accessible on dlrcoco.ie from Thursday.