A concept design showing the location of the new accessible ramp at the Beverley Whitfield Ocean Pool. Photo: Shellharbour City Council.
A permanent accessibility ramp and major safety improvements at the much-loved Beverley Whitfield Ocean Pool in Shellharbour Village will begin in September, marking the end of years of community advocacy for inclusive upgrades.
Work is expected to take up to four months to complete, subject to weather and ocean conditions.
Upgrades will include a permanent ramp built on the pool’s western side, concourse resurfacing so it sits flush with the pool edge and ties in with the new ramp, stormwater drainage improvements and targeted concrete repairs to make it safer and easier for people of all ages and abilities to enjoy the city’s only saltwater, round-the-clock swimming facility.
At present, pool access for users is via stairs and ladders only.
Mayor Chris Homer said the upgrade was “a long time coming” and praised council staff for finding an engineering solution that preserved the pool’s swimming lanes while providing disability access.
“As a person that has had saltwater running through his veins all his life in this city, and I’ve been using this pool since I was about five-years-old being part of the Dolphins Club down there, it’s one of the most utilised and most popular rock pools on the coast,” Cr Homer said.
“It did take a while and operational staff have worked extremely hard to protect the existing amenity inside the pool, which was one of the main points of contention.
“We didn’t want to take away a lane in the pool to install the infrastructure.
“It was quite a challenge – who knows what we would find under the concourse. But we’ve ended up finally settling on a piece of engineering that will be outside the lanes.”
Cr Rob Petreski said if the pool was built now it would have had accessibility measures, but it was a pool with a long history.
In fact, the pool has been part of Shellharbour’s coastline since 1894. Originally known as the Ocean Baths, it was renamed in 1994 in honour of Shellharbour’s Olympic swimmer Beverley Whitfield.
“It’s important to note at one stage we were told as councillors we couldn’t put the ramp outside the pool,” Cr Petreski said.
“We’ve had a lot of clever people working on this for a while, and they’ve worked out a way to do it outside the pool, which is a better outcome for everyone.
“This is probably the one thing in the past 12 months or more, maybe the past two years, that I’ve had more phone calls about than just about any other single issue. It’s good to see that it’s coming through.”
Cr John Davey said the pool welcomed about 160,000 people each year, making it a well-utilised facility.
“It’s been through a number of iterations. I can remember as a boy jumping off the diving blocks at the southern end of the pool,” Cr Davey said, referencing one of the features now removed.
“When the enhancements to the pool were first put forward, I was a strong opponent.
“I thought we would have severely impacted the amenity of the pool had we dropped a ramp into the pool, but this solution where we can go into the rock area itself and make this external ramp, I’m a convert.”
Cr Kellie Marsh, who works in the disability sector, said the accessibility upgrades would be beneficial for residents and tourists.
“It’s an older pool that we’re making more fit for purpose, fit for the times and more accessible,” Cr Marsh said.
“I think this will definitely bring the tourists to Shellharbour. We were promoting with our airline only last week that people who have accessibility issues come to our city.
“Well, isn’t it great they will have a pool they’ll be able to get in and out of.”
During construction, council will explore offering free entry to pools like Oak Flats and Warilla, and may supplement lifeguard services at nearby beaches.
Cr Mitch Ellis, who is a regular user of the pool, said having it shut for four months was a small inconvenience for what was an important project.
More information and project updates are available at Let’s Chat.
