Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

public pools should be open later than 5pm on a Saturday

73 replies

twoopsie · 20/12/2014 20:29

I really struggle to get the time to swim. The local pool closes at 10pm during the week and 5pm at the weekend.

Its always pretty busy in the last hour of weekdays and weekends as its lanes.

The running costs for these few hours would easily be made up I'm sure.

Public pools are a right pain to get any swimming done, can never do it in the lunchtime as its either schools or 50+.

Now the kids are in bed I would love to have a 30 main swim then sawna but it closed hours ago

OP posts:
BikeRunSki · 21/12/2014 08:25

I don't think I have ever known a library open on Sundays, even when I was growing up in Central London.

As from March, we won't have a library at all.

LadyWithLapdog · 21/12/2014 09:38

The library in Clapham was open on a Sunday when we went to a festival nearby this August. I was pleasantly surprised. (I just needed the loo.)

Tron123 · 21/12/2014 10:05

If the pool and libraries were open when those who fund them through their taxes can use them then people might feel they are worth saving. At the moment the opening times have been cut so much that many working people can't access them, so as they are more of a luxury pubic service unlike schools or hospitals taxpayers will not notice when they are cut. After all if you are tax payer it would be good to use these facilities

Happy36 · 21/12/2014 12:26

What a shame. Must make swimming impossible for many people. Write to, or email, the pool and the council and encourage others to do the same. Perhaps they could rejig the same number of opening hours into a more user friendly schedule. (Don't ask, don't get is my motto!)

daisychain01 · 21/12/2014 12:34

I find it madness that most of the swimming pools in our county have a policy of always being closed every bank holiday. FGS the government should be trying to encourage people who are working and with families to use those statutory holidays to get people doing more exercise.

What rubbish short term thinking is that!

And if they opened to pool 30 mins earlier for early bird swimming it would be hardly any issue to them, but a big benefit for people like me who want early bird swimming to be a pleasant experience, not so packed that none of us can swim!

daisychain01 · 21/12/2014 12:36

I have to say Tron, I rather like the idea of a luxury pubic service

I could do with one of those for Christmas Grin

shakemysilliesout · 21/12/2014 12:45

Londoner here. Our public pools are barely open for public swim and privately operated so quite pricey. I find private gym pools too small. Less than 20 metres is just too small.

gilmoregirl · 21/12/2014 12:47

I was just thinking about this very thing today. I am a keen swimmer and live five minutes from our local pool and use it 3-4 times per week.

DS has been ill recently so I have not been able to go when I usually would (lesson on tues eve, swim early Friday eve and early sun morn plus maybe one other swim).

DS is better now (well enough to come along to pool and play on iPad!) so I went for a swim yesterday. The pool shut at 5. It was shut for the night then, as they had the cover on - something I have not seen done before as never there at closing time, went again this morning and checked opening time and closes at 3.30 on sun.

The pool is in a leisure centre and the gym is open but the pool closed which is a shame.

I would totally swim on a sat or sun evening if it was open and I would think it would be popular. We are lucky yo have such a great pool close by (well is one of the reasons I love here!) so I do make a point of using the service as aware must use it or lose it! Most of friends use private gym but just not handy for us.

Knottyknitter · 21/12/2014 12:53

This is exactly why I joined the gym 4 years ago.

The local council pool charged me £4.50 to swim after work, but when I got in to the "free swimming" session, there were three lanes out for club use, then half width wise out of the rest for lessons.

A quarter of a pool for £4.50! And only available from 17:30 to 19:00!

HeraldAngelSinging · 21/12/2014 13:03

Tron Funds for public services (tax payers) are paid not just by those who go to work. The taxes are also gathered from those who've saved for many years (while paying income tax and national insurance without fail) and also pay tax on the interest their savings earn or their occupational pensions.

GertrudePerkins · 21/12/2014 13:09

on the subject of libraries, ours opens on a Sunday.

I should probably add that we live in an area with high proportion of observant Jewish people, which I image has influenced the decision to open for four hours on Sat and four on Sun.

agree though that local services should coordinate more. Round here all the pools are women only on Tuesday evenings, which is pretty much the one evening DH has free. Why they can't stagger things like this I don't know.

wobblyweebles · 21/12/2014 13:19

Our YMCA pool is open till 8.30pm on a Saturday.

LadyWithLapdog · 21/12/2014 18:42

Having said how I couldn't get in either of the closest three pools on Wednesday after school, I went this afternoon (Sunday), 3.30-5 but it was open till 7. Quite pricey, close to £10 for one adult and two kids. Lovely big, warm teaching pool and huge adult pool, hot clean showers, free hairdryers.

I agree with pp about private gym pools. Usually too small and quite busy. Also a bit deep for the younger kids.

Special mention to one of the four lifeguards this evening at the council pool, he was down off his chair like a shot to tell someone off (politely). She was doing tumble dives in a 1 metre deep pool. She looked about 10, should have known better.

LadyWithLapdog · 21/12/2014 18:46

To another pp. I also joined a private gym a few years back for the only reason that the council pool where I was at the time was very unrealible. You had to ring every time to check the employees had turned up and they'd open the teaching pool. After one too many disappointed kids we went to a private gym. Very expensive, I can't afford it now.

Tron123 · 21/12/2014 21:41

Of course taxes are paid by or have been paid by many, the issue I raise is that the current tax payers do not benefit from the libraries or pools as they are never or only sometimes open when they are working. I feel that those taxpayers should be able to access these amenties

MrsMook · 21/12/2014 22:36

I haven't been able to use my local library since RTW as their hours are so short. The two pools were due to be replaced by a super pool, but the council has decided to dump that plan, and just shut the larger pool. How all the clubs, events, classes and public sessions will function in the smaller pool alone, goodness knows. The problem isn't the usage of the pool, just the fact that the building is out dated, unattractive, uncomfortable and reaching the end of its life. Our main theatre is closed following a fire. Again, it was reaching the end of its life, so isn't worth the cost of repair, but there's no plans or funds for a replacement, so it's the loss of another public venue which helps support local businesses, and the other theatres aren't suitable for the range of events and productions which is a major loss to the city.

Original poster
twoopsie · 22/12/2014 08:16

I agree tron, the public services are difficult to use if you work and the people that pay the bulk of tax probably won't ever get to retire

OP posts:
simontowers2 · 22/12/2014 08:23

Most people are doing something sensible like cracking the wine open from 5pm onwards on saturdays

bruffin · 22/12/2014 08:36

Our local one will be closed on a sunday at 5 as there is a special needs group that hire it, followed by a private swimming club.

I used to get annoyed that my dcs couldnt go for a swim after school. They go to school a few miles away and if they have an event on at 6 they dont have time to get home and back so they have to hang around. The council pool is part of their school grounds and would have been ideal for them to pass away the time, but there are lessons on every night and no free swimming on the timetable until much later.

18yearstooold · 22/12/2014 08:42

Ours is terrible

During the week it's open 7.30-9am when anyone that works or has children can't go
Then 2-3.30 (there are swimming lessons all morning)
7.30-9pm and it's absolutely rammed!
Half the pool is lane swimming and half is free swim -its only a 25m pool and its impossible to swim in

Weekends are worse, it's only open 1-2 on Saturdays
The afternoon used to be a mixture of family swim and inflatable session, kids used to queue up around the building
And then it just stopped -they just do parties now

Original poster
twoopsie · 22/12/2014 08:42

Most people are doing something sensible like cracking the wine open from 5pm onwards on saturdays

That's probably why most people are fat.

OP posts:
QueenofLouisiana · 22/12/2014 09:26

Ours also closes to public swimming at 5pm at the weekend. However, it is open until 9pm most weeknights. You can use the health suite posh name for a jacuzzi and sauna when lessons etc are on.

Unfortunately swimming clubs need pools to practice and compete in and most pool users wouldn't want to be in a pool at the same time as 50 competitive swimmers! I know DS's club pay a lot of money to hire the pool and need less lifeguards than a normal session- also not many people want to swim at 6.30am on a Sunday!

ElizabethHoover · 22/12/2014 09:28

thsnk gof my kids never go any more but the ratio used to get me when they were younger

even though they could swim, if you have three kids - no dice

SquirrelledAway · 22/12/2014 09:58

I expect the economics of keeping the pool open for public swimming don't stack up - it's not feasible if you end up with four staff on duty and half a dozen people in the pool. With a private hire then at least you know the costs will be covered.

Life guarding ratios depend on the number and type of swimmers in the pool - club swimmers will be deemed competent and therefore you can have a higher ratio of swimmers to lifeguards (or no lifeguards if the coaches are national rescue tested and you have a spotter).

bruffin · 22/12/2014 10:08

My ds is a lifeguard You only need two on pool side up to about 80 and 3 to hundred, but they are only allowed on poolside for 1.30 hours maximum, so you need cover when they are on a break.