Cork leisure centre so run down it is 'nearly an embarrassment', councillors told
Covers for the two swimming pools were not operating, which led to a loss of heat and 'cost a fortune in electricity' to warm them up again. File picture
A council-controlled leisure centre in Co Cork with more than 5,000 local users is so run down it is “nearly an embarrassment” — but the door is firmly shut on any new pool opening in the region.
Independent county councillor Ger Curley raised a litany of issues with the Coral Leisure Centre in Cobh at a local municipal district council meeting.
“The steam room has been out of action for over 14 months, the sauna was recently closed for a week. There are three spinning bikes out of order, along with two treadmills and two weights machines,” he said.
In addition, he said covers for the two swimming pools were not operating, which led to a loss of heat and “cost a fortune in electricity” to warm them up again.
“There are tiles missing and broken in the changing area and the timber is rotting in the sauna,” Mr Curley claimed.
He estimated it would cost €500,000 to bring the facility up to scratch.
Mr Curley described the facilities as “nearly an embarrassment”.
He said there were 1,406 leisure centre members, and a further 4,000 who were not full members but also used the facility.
“It’s probably seven years since any major work was done there. It’s just not good enough. If we don’t do something quickly, we'll have major problems on our hands,” he said.
Labour councillor in Cobh Cathal Rasmussen said it looked like the cash-strapped council would need central government funding for repairs.
“People are spending a lot of money to get in there and can’t use half the facilities. Students are complaining to me,” Fianna Fáil councillor Dominic Finn said.
Fine Gael councillor Sinéad Sheppard said locals had fought long and hard to get the leisure centre and did not want to lose it.
“There’s a huge amount of children using it for swimming lessons. We should get a quarterly report from now on about what’s going on up there,” she added.
Municipal district officer Páraig Lynch said all revenue generated was ploughed back into the facility but “accepted that additional money is required” to upgrade it.
Mr Curley suggested raising entry fees to cover the costs, but Mr Lynch said there was a contract in place which did not allow the council to “unilaterally increase” charges.
He said a list of the upgrades needed had been given to council bosses in County Hall and while he had received no formal reply yet, “the indications are it’s being looked on favourably”.
Meanwhile, Fine Gael councillor Rory Cocking asked officials attending a meeting of the East Cork Municipal District Council if they would consider developing a leisure centre in Midleton.
He said Grant Thornton carried out a feasibility study in 2021 which showed there would be massive support from the public for it.
Mr Cocking said it was becoming increasingly difficult for young people in Midleton to get into swimming classes in other towns.
Independent councillor John Buckley said the population in the area had “exploded” and it was badly needed.
Independent councillor Mary Linehan-Foley said children deserved to have a swimming pool nearby for water safety reasons.
However, council officials said no to the proposal due to the proximity of council-controlled centres in Cobh, Youghal, and Fermoy.
Mr Cocking described the reply as “very disappointing” adding he was "determined to keep it on the agenda".
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