Hamworthy and Redhill paddling pools waiting for new parts

The water facilities at Redhill and Hamworthy parks have been out of action for a prolonged period.

BCP Council had hoped to reopen the Bournemouth site at the start of last week, while work to get the Poole location in full working order were pressing ahead.

However, as reported, issues were identified at both pools and led to them remaining closed.

Despite signs asking people not to use them, the Daily Echo has received reports of many youngsters ignoring warnings and getting their feet wet.

It has now been confirmed that new parts to address issues have been ordered, but civic chiefs said they could not be sure this would fix the problem until they were installed.

If all goes to plan, the facilities could be back operating fully this week.

The pool at Redhill Park. Picture: BCP Council

Cllr Mark Anderson, BCP Council portfolio holder for environment, said: “The sites at both Redhill and Hamworthy have been closed for nearly two years in line with Government guidelines around Covid-19.

"We are working as hard as we’re able to resolve the issues we’ve encountered since working to re-open these popular facilities to the public.

"New parts have had to be ordered and we won’t know if everything is working correctly until such time they are delivered, installed and then the pools are filled to ensure the parts are working properly – all of which takes time.

Cllr Mark Anderson

"We hope we will be in a position to re-open both pools at some point this week but we will only do so once we are sure that the sites are suitable for public use. Our priority is the safety of the public first and foremost.”