The new Linwood - Woolston Pool

Kīkīa kia rongo! Have your say and be heard!

This project involves working with the community to find a suitable site for a new indoor pool in the Linwood-Woolston area and finding out what people might want to do at the pool.

Decision on the pool location

The location for Linwood-Woolston pool has now been approved, the site chosen is 141 Smith Street (Linwood Park).  For more information on this decision you can read the article on our Newsline page(external link).

Consultation on the new Linwood-Woolston Pool has now closed. People were able to provide feedback from 12 March 2018 to 9 April 2018.

During this time we heard from 478 individuals and groups.  There were 427 (89%) who supported the 141 Smith Street (Linwood Park) location, 36 (8%) who supported other locations and 15 (3%) who did not indicate a preference.

Consultation feedback is now available.  The staff report was presented to the Linwood-Central Heathcote Community Board at their meeting on 16 May 2018.  You can view the staff report online(external link) and the meeting minutes will be available three working days after this meeting.

You can also view the attachments that go with submission # 14566, submission #14562 and submission #14368

What happens next?

Now that a site has been chosen for the new Linwood-Woolston pool, the project team will now be working on the design of the facility which will involve further engagement with the community.

Why do we need this pool?

One of Christchurch City’s Council’s big goals is to encourage more people to be more active more often, and our research has shown that the Linwood-Woolston area is in need of an indoor pool facility to help people do just that.  

We’ve had initial discussions, and some of the things you’ve told us you’d like to see in the new Linwood - Woolston pool facility include:

• A quality facility that the strong local community will “own” and take pride in
• A focus on local needs, for people living within 2-4 kilometres
• A facility that celebrates all the local cultures in the area
• A focus on recreation (family fun) social interaction and (family fun) social interaction and health (exercise and mobility)
• A balance between pool, flexible multi-sport and social activity/meeting spaces
• A range of pools designed to encourage participation
• An inclusive facility that helps the community come together, and provides a home for community events
• A place where cost doesn’t stop people from enjoying the facility
• An inviting building that people feel welcome and safe in
• The opportunity to build partnerships with community organisations
• A facility that fits in well with Linwood Park and how it will be used over the years.

Linwood Development Aspirations report 2017

Where should we build it?

Choosing the right site is very important and will influence the design of the facility.

What do we need to think about?

A number of factors can determine the best location for any new facility, although often a site will offer both strengths and challenges.

These factors include:

• Is it in a good location that’s close to other things? 
• Does it offer a high-profile spot on the street where lots of people can see it and get to it, and is it close to another major destination? Is it close to the busy residential communities that need the pool the most?
• How can you get there?
• Is it easy to get to by car, bus, bike and on foot, and how much parking could there be?
• What’s the land like?
• Is the land available to the Council? Does the facility fit in with what’s already in the area, and what are the ground conditions like?

Our favourite option

We’ve carried out some initial reviews and have come up with a favoured site:

141 Smith Street 

Linwood Park – near the north corner of Linwood Avenue and Smith Street.

This location meets all our criteria, which makes it a standout option for the community. Currently, this section of Linwood Park is an old nursery that is no longer used and has good quality land that is already owned by the Council, so can be built on easily. Other positives include:

• It’s very close to Eastgate Shopping Centre, including Linwood Library, and next to the well-used park
• There’s plenty of room for the facility to grow, and to connect up with other Council facilities in the future
• The pool would easily be seen from Linwood Avenue
• There is a major cycleway running right next to the site
• The location is a good distance from nearby houses, so neighbours won't be disturbed by all the activity
• The Council owns most of the land around it.

Other options

We also looked at:

• 502 Ferry Road (Woolston Park – next door to Te Waka Unua School)
• 180 Smith Street (Council offices)
• 252 Linwood Avenue (Linwood Park)
• 170 Buckleys Road (Bromley Park).

These were our less favoured choices because they didn’t meet enough of our criteria – for example, they could be harder to travel to, had more neighbours, or a lot of buildings already there that would need to be demolished and built somewhere else to make space.

You can view more detailed information on all the possible locations and how they stack up.  You can suggest other possible sites, however when suggesting other sites, look at the criteria and consider how the site stacks up against each of them.

Other things to think about

How would you like to use the pool?

We want to know what would make you more likely to use the pool, and what sort of things might stop you from going, so we can design the facility specifically for your community. We also want your ideas on how to make the pool unique to Linwood and Woolston. 

How can we team up?

If you’re part of a community group that’s looking for somewhere to meet or run classes, there might be a space in this facility that you can use. There are ways to partner with Christchurch City Council to make this happen – so let us know what you have in mind.

How would you travel to the pool?

However you like to get around, make sure your voice is heard. With your feedback, we can make sure getting to the pool is as easy as possible for as many people as possible.  Feedback and comments are welcomed on how you would hope to use these facilities. 

Next steps

Once this round of engagement has closed all feedback will be considered by the project team, and a recommendation on where it should be built will be made to the Linwood-Central-Heathcote Community Board. At this stage we expect that they will decide on a site in mid 2018.

After the decision is made about the site, there will be a second round of public consultation and engagement where we ask for feedback on the concept design for the facility itself. This will help us make sure we’ve heard what you want, and that you get to stay involved with shaping the facility. We’re exploring a number of ways to keep you informed and involved in this process, and we expect this will kick off early in the second half of 2018. 

 Come and talk to us

We will be available to discuss the new Linwood-Woolston Pool and receive your comments at the following drop-in sessions (drop in at any time):

Saturday 17 March
LYFE event, Linwood Park, 4 to 8pm

Friday 23 March
Eastgate Mall, opposite Pascoes on the corner of Linwood Avenue and Aldwins Road, Linwood, 1 to 3pm

Saturday 24 March
Woolston Gala, Woolston Park, 11am to 3pm

The new Linwood-Woolston Pool consultation booklet