Debate over the icy water temperatures at Felixistowe Leisure Centre is heating up.
Poll: Felixstowe swimming pool bosses in hot water over cold temperatures
BY RICHARD CORNWELL, Felixstowe editor
Thursday, September 20, 2012
6:40 PM
LEISURE chiefs are in hot water today – from swimmers upset about the lack of it.
Users of Felixstowe Leisure Centre have launched a barrage of complaints about the swimming pools at the beachside complex, saying the water is just too cold.
Parents have told of shivering youngsters’ lips turning blue, tiny children asking to be taken out of the water, and say many families are now travelling to Ipswich’s Crown Pools instead.
A Facebook page set up about the issue has been inundated with comments with nearly 500 people agreeing.
But council chiefs have poured cold water on the complaints – and say the water is between 27 and 30 degrees C.
Kathryn Braden, of Trimley St Martin, who took her two-year-old daughter Sylvie to the leisure centre in Undercliff Road West, said children regularly had blue lips just a few minutes after being in the water.
“If I was going in there to do 50 lengths it would probably not be an issue because you would get warm. But the children’s and baby pool is just very cold and you cannot keep your child in for very long.
“If you go to Crown Pools it is very different – nice and warm, like getting into a bath.”
The woman behind the Facebook page, who declined to be named, said: “The facilities at the leisure centre and the swimming lessons are excellent, it’s just the water temperature which people are complaining about. When you have young children, as a parent you are standing around keeping an eye on them, and they perhaps cannot swim and are not moving about so much, and it is very cold. It’s really disappointing.”
A spokesman for Suffolk Coastal District Council said: “We have reviewed pool and air temperature readings completed and supplied to us by DC Leisure, operators of the facility, which are carried out no less than three times daily.
“The range of recommended pool temperatures for baby, teaching, leisure and competition sessions are from 27-30 degrees centigrade and all their tests across the past two weeks show numbers between those temperatures.
“Given there is one filtration system for all pools it isn’t a straightforward decision to simply turn the temperature up, given the requirements of all our users including swimming clubs.
“However DC Leisure and the council do take complaints very seriously and will continue to monitor the pools closely to establish whether there could possibly be any other factors affecting temperatures and if any action can be taken to address this.”
Latest News See all
- Gallery: Baby owls, competition winners and a treasure hunt - the pictures behind the headlines
- Through the Lens: ITFC star Carlos Edwards and his girls melt hearts
- Video: Vicar boldly going . . . into the pulpit
- Kesgrave/Clacton: Haulier jailed and fined £50k for crush death accident at Ipswich docks
- Felixstowe: Donation for charity brings community centre refurbishment a step closer
More news
- Gallery: Baby owls, competition winners and a treasure hunt - the pictures behind the headlines
- Through the Lens: ITFC star Carlos Edwards and his girls melt hearts
- Video: Vicar boldly going . . . into the pulpit
- Kesgrave/Clacton: Haulier jailed and fined £50k for crush death accident at Ipswich docks
- Felixstowe: Donation for charity brings community centre refurbishment a step closer
- Felixstowe: New walking group in resort
- Trimley St Martin: Proposals for 66 new homes on land in Trimley St Martin to be debated by planning chiefs
- Gallery: Thousands enjoy a bumper Hadleigh Show
- Hadleigh: Tesco to make new bid for town store
- Bury St Edmunds: The body of PCSO Sue Medcraft is found days before husband’s funeral
Suffolk Show
Summer
Crime Week
Campaign
Festivals
Star Savers
Motoring
Oldest English Town
I Love Ipswich
Mr. Ipswich
James Marston
Digital edition
Read today's paper online now
Send us a story
iwitness24 Your news is our news Facebook Like your local paper Twitter Join the conversation Ipswich Borough CouncilADVERTISEMENT
11 comments
The pool is always cold, never believe the temperatures they claim it is because it's definately not. My son has his swimming lessons there and has come out many times feeling cold and thats why if we went for extra swimming, we used to go to crown pools.
Report this comment
FXT Canary
Saturday, September 22, 2012
I agree that the pool is ridiculously cold - I also have a problem with the standard of the changing rooms and the cost of a swim there. On a weekend afternoon the changing rooms are filthy and freezing cold, and the price for adults is far too high when the facilities are so poor. Crown Pools is so much nicer - far cheaper, cleaner and warmer - Felixstowe can't compete. DC manage some of their other pools well - Splash at Sheringham is a good example - warm and clean - they need to have a good think about Felixstowe as many people will start heading to Ipswich instead
Report this comment
alittlebitwoolly
Friday, September 21, 2012
This is the proof i needed. I complained weekly to the lifeguards and staff that the temp in the small "baby pool" was too low and the main pool too. My daughter used to shiver after a few mins and i, who carry abit more fat, did too after awhile. It meant our trip was always short and didn't have the value for money so we stopped going. When i'd enquire the lifeguard would hough and then measure the temp less than an inch from the heater jets!!! I used to smile at the signs in the changing rooms too, reminding shivering customers of the health and safety guidence for min temp in public areas, basically telling customers you may be cold...but not in the eyes of the government.
Report this comment
Ipswich-Ram
Friday, September 21, 2012
This pool is very cold, no matter what DC leisure say, my 8 year old gets very cold, and so do I. It's no fun being in the water with a child who doesn't swim much yet! I think there should be independent testing alongside DC leisure's reported figures, I have thought of taking a thermometer in with me, but safety issues prevent that.
Report this comment
ladybuns
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Felixstowe pool is definitely colder than any other pool in the area, staff have told me that they think the pool is very cold too, but that they aren't supposed to say so. There should be some kind of independent random check on the temperature of the water, I would take a thermometer with me if it was safe to do so, as I do not believe that the figures quoted reflect the real situation.
Report this comment
ladybuns
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Don't know about the swimmimg pool being so cold, the Bowls hall is so hot we nearly all pass out. And about them taking the complaints seriously thats a laugh we complain all the time and it never get any better.
Report this comment
janet essex
Thursday, September 20, 2012
For the last 5 years this pool has been freezing cold
Report this comment
Michael Abbott
Thursday, September 20, 2012
For the last 5 years this pool has been freezing cold
Report this comment
Michael Abbott
Thursday, September 20, 2012
What a content free reply from the spokesman! Just go there, swim in it and you'll see for yourself. We have stopped going there with our 3 year old, nice facility ruined by management who simply won't listen to the feedback from their clients. Our little girl was shivering with the cold and pleading to be let out. Tried talking with the staff their, just got the same stupid "its between the recommended levels" reply People will vote with their feet, crowm pools, whislt less handy in terms of parking will get my vote every time.
Report this comment
Danny Brown
Thursday, September 20, 2012
How about a story for how rubbish Crown Pools is due to the "swimming club" and "aqua classes" that prevent the general public from showing up most evenings and just having a swim in the competition pool? Theres rarely a time where its not either closed or part closed to the public.
Report this comment
Monkey1986
Thursday, September 20, 2012
The two pools are joined together. Increase the temperature and it will increase for the deeper pool too. Who wants to swim around in water that will make you hot and ultimately sweat (for the swimmers who do lengths)? It is possible to sweat when swimming so the increased temperature will result in dirtier water. If the children are cold, tell them to move around a bit and theyll soon be fine. Ive recently been in Spain where the pool temp was 25C and children were enjoying that without getting supposed "blue" lips.
Report this comment
Monkey1986
Thursday, September 20, 2012