Refurbished Manchester Aquatics Centre will host World Paralympic Swimming Championships
- Manchester Aquatic centre in need of £31m upgrade
- Chloe Golding says 'The centre is functioning, but everything is quite old'
- Council comes to a decison regarding funding
Manchester Aquatics Centre is set to receive a £31m upgrade for a greener swimming facility to host the 2023 World Paralympics Championship.
A recent investigation by the strategic director of neighbourhoods pointed out that the centre is in desperate need of refurbishment due to mechanical and electrical problems.
The Aquatics Centre is famous for hosting the Commonwealth games in 2002, The Duel in The Pool in 2009 and multiple British and international championships.
Chloe Golding, an ex-student athlete from Man Met, trains at the centre nine times a week in the pool and three times a week in the gym.
“The centre is great, we have 50m pools, omega blocks and the staff are lovely,” she said.
As a professional swimmer for the New York Breakers, who also competed in the Gold Coast Commonwealth games, Chloe recognises that the centre needs refurbishing.
She said: “The centre is functioning, but everything is quite old, the floor and the boom of the main pool often get broken, hindering our training, so these should be fixed.”
Refurbishing work is set to replace the pool treatment plan, pool lighting, moveable floors, electrical systems and lifts.
The Aquatics centre is the only complex in the UK with two 50m pools, as well as separate diving and leisure pools.
If it generates £4 m a year then any investment that lasts more than 8 years is sensible.
— Luke (@longwayround) January 29, 2021
It also provides a fitness and workout studio and a health suite which includes a sauna, steam room and a café.
Manchester City Council stated in a press release: “The centre runs at a profit, generating revenue which has been reinvested in supporting leisure facilities for Manchester people and having an overall economic impact for the city of more than £4m a year.”
The leisure centre aims to reduce its carbon footprint by 40%, by introducing green technology, aligning with the council’s Green and Blue strategy.
Golding trains at the aquatics centre nine times a week in the pool and three times a week in the gym.
When asked about the centre she said that “the centre is great, we have 50m pools, omega blocks and the staff are lovely”.
However, she added: “The centre is functioning, but everything is quite old. The floor and the boom of the main pool often get broken hindering our training so these should be fixed.”
Chloe said covid-19 has had an impact on her training.
“I was out of the water March-June having to train completely on land. Fortunately, since then, as an elite athlete, I have been able to train,” she said.
“Our protocols are very strict with distancing, symptom and temperature checks and wearing PPE at all times.”
She is still hopeful of taking part in the Tokyo Olympics games in the 200m backstroke.
Councillor Luthfur Rahman, executive member for culture and leisure, said: “Under the plans, carbon reduction technologies will be used wherever possible to replace worn-out elements of the building.
“These include ground source and air source heat pumps, LED lights and the use of solar PVs on the roof and will together deliver an estimated carbon saving of at least 750,000kg a year.”
It was also recommended that the council approves an annual increase of the capital budget by £0.7m in 2020/21, £8.5m in 2021/22 and £21.2m in 2022/23. With the majority of the £29.2m cost to be funded through borrowing, and its remaining £1.3m to be funded by capital receipts.