Pool to shut for six months for roof repairs

A pool at a leisure centre in Sheffield is to close for six months so roof safety repairs can be carried out after ongoing disruption was caused to swimming sessions.

The pool at Thorncliffe Leisure Centre in High Green will be shut from 16 November until May next year to enable remedial work to take place on the roof.

A council meeting on Monday was told that interim repairs had not solved the problem, so a "comprehensive programme of remedial works" had been agreed.

Councillor Brian Holmshaw, chair of the city council communities, parks and leisure policy committee, said customers would be told about membership arrangements and access to alternative facilities before the closure.

During the meeting, Councillor Alan Hooper raised complaints about the centre and said loose tiles had been a "major problem" since the centre opened 10 years ago.

He said reception staff faced "daily challenges due to the member dissatisfaction, frustration and lack of communications", and that full and partial pool closures were still ongoing, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Holmshaw replied that he "fully recognised" the frustrations experienced by customers, staff and residents.

He explained the council had been working closely with centre operator Everyone Active and Kier, which had built the centre and would carry out the repairs.

"I recognise the ongoing restrictions have created challenges for front-line staff, who have been responding to customer concerns while continuing to operate the facility safely," he said.

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