Warwick District Council approves funding for paddling pool refurb

A £50,000 grant will be used to refurbish St Nicholas Park's paddling pool in Warwick



Plans to overhaul a popular outdoor paddling pool in Warwick have secured funding.

The attraction in St Nicholas Park will be given non-slip surfaces and "improved pool surrounds", Warwick District Council said.

Work on a second, larger pool at Victoria Park in Leamington Spa will take place at the same time.

"Both paddling pools now require a thorough refurbishment and upgrade," said councillor Will Roberts.

The improvement works in St Nicholas Park will be funded with a £50,000 grant - from the King Henry VIII Endowed Trust - and section 106 monies.

Mr Roberts, the council's portfolio holder for neighbourhood, added repairs and maintenance were carried out each year on the popular pools to "avoid having to close them for long periods of time."

"However, over the years, the repairs have become more substantial and costly, so we have now reached a point where ongoing maintenance is not sufficient," he said.

Work on both pools is due to start in the new year and finish by May.

Park's paddling pool reopens after upgrade works



A refurbished paddling pool is due to reopen on Saturday, following delays getting materials.

Warwick District Council said upgrades to the pool at Victoria Park in Leamington included non-slip surfaces, improved surrounds, jets and fountains with free-standing shades and benches around the outside.

The authority said it would be open throughout the school summer holidays and remain open until September.

"We really appreciate people's patience as we've worked to get the pool ready and open for the summer holidays," said councillor Will Roberts.

"It's fantastic to be able to provide this fun, free, family friendly facility in the centre of Leamington."

Meanwhile, the authority said it was facing "ongoing challenges" with the refurbishment of the paddling pool at St Nicholas Park in Warwick, having earlier said it would open by the summer.

Further updates will be made in the coming weeks, a spokesperson said.

"Due to the more complex nature of the construction of the St Nicholas Park paddling pool and ongoing challenges with onsite water levels, this facility will take a little longer to complete," they added.

The council did not provide a date for when the St Nicholas Park pool was expected to reopen.

Splash park closure leaves families high and dry



A new splash park in Leamington Spa, which had only been open for two weeks following refurbishment work, has been closed by the local council with "great sadness".

The paddling pool, at Victoria Park in the town centre, has been shut due to a "range of technical issues", Warwick District Council said.

It means families in Warwickshire and Coventry have been left with no public water play areas for children, with a new development in Warwick's St Nicholas Park yet to open, and a space in Coventry closed due to a mechanical failure.

A Warwick District Council spokesperson said it was "working hard with the contractors to fix the issues".

The splash park had reopened after revamp work in July.

It was previously earmarked for refurbishment as part of a council project, alongside the park in Warwick.

The council said it had been forced to close the site with "immediate effect", and officers "do not expect" the site to reopen for the rest of the school summer holidays.

In Warwick, the council is facing ongoing challenges with the project due to the "more complex nature" of the work.

It is not yet known when the paddling pool will open.

Following the Leamington Spa closure, Warwick District Council said: "The council understands the disappointment that this will cause especially given the fine weather and is working hard with the contractors to fix the issues."

Paddling pools 'on track to reopen' for summer



Outdoor paddling pools in Warwickshire are on track to reopen within weeks after delays of more than a year.

Warwick District Council's facilities in St Nicholas Park, Warwick, and Victoria Park, Leamington Spa, were shut for repairs in 2024 and due to reopen in May 2025.

Problems with the upgrade meant the July reopening at Victoria Park was short-lived with the Warwick facility also mothballed until this year.

This year's brighter weather arrived before a resolution, but the council finalised negotiations with the contractor to iron out the problems with the aim of reopening in the school summer holidays.

Green councillor Will Roberts provided an update at this week's council meeting, reporting that both sites had reached the key milestone of passing moisture tests, which enabled wash sealing of resin on the pools on Thursday.

"The wetpour areas that failed are now being removed and holes used for the concrete moisture testing are now being filled in so the wetpour work can take place," he said.

"The glass reinforced plastic [wetpour material] can't be laid on damp concrete and the initial moisture test failure at Victoria Park caused a slight delay, which might mean Victoria Park opens slightly after St Nic's.

"Final works to the plantrooms are also scheduled to happen within the next couple of weeks."

Roberts said the exact opening dates would be announced in the next couple of weeks.

He added that the council was on course to have the first paddling pool open towards the end of month, with Victoria Park following very shortly afterwards.

"Of course there is the caveat that weather can still cause a delay to the opening," Roberts warned.

"Rest assured that the project team is as keen to get the pools open as everyone else."

MP calls for confirmed paddling pools opening date



An MP has called for a council to confirm an exact opening date for popular outdoor paddling pools which he said had been closed for "two years and counting".

The facilities, at Victoria Park, Leamington Spa, and St Nicholas Park, Warwick, were shut for repairs in 2024 and were initially due to reopen in May 2025.

Matt Western, MP for Warwick and Leamington, said he had asked Warwick District Council to confirm a definite opening date and for the pools to be open for the start of the school summer holidays.

The authority responded that the target for opening the pools remained the end of July and there was a chance the facilities could open earlier than this.

Problems with the upgrade works at Victoria Park meant the pool's reopening last July was short-lived and the facility was closed again due to "range of technical issues".

Western said he had spoken to several families at the park who were "frustrated" by the delays, particularly in recent hot weather.

The Labour MP said he had written to Green councillor Will Roberts, the authority's portfolio holder for neighbourhood, for the third time about the issue.

In a letter, he said many young families relied on the pools as a "free, local place for children to enjoy during the warm weather" and that the delay fell short "of the urgency the situation demanded".

He said to have the facilities "unusable" for the last two years was "simply not good enough".

"Residents are not asking much to be able to use a local amenity during this hot weather," Western added.

"I hope we will get a definite opening date, and families can finally enjoy the paddling pools again."

In a statement, the district council said Western had received regular updates from councillor Roberts over several months regarding the paddling pools.

"At the last council meeting, councillor Roberts confirmed in his update that the target for opening the pools was by the end of July, and we are pleased to confirm that this has not changed," a spokesperson added.

"There is even a chance that both pools might be opened earlier, and we hope to confirm this within the week."