Council adopted the draft aquatic needs analysis at last Wednesday’s meeting with an amendment to include a 51-metre indoor pool as the preferred option.

A 51-metre pool allows for the pool to be divided into two with a one-metre boom in the middle. 

Cessnock Pool Users Group chairman Phil Murray addressed the meeting and told council that the report’s 25-metre indoor option would not meet the community’s needs.

Greens councillor James Ryan said the council motion wasn’t good enough; that council needed to commit to the facility that the community wants.

He accused the Labor councillors of “keeping residents in suspense” by not committing building the full-length indoor pool.

“It is disappointing that the ALP councillors and Cr. Stapleford did not support my proposal for council to commit to a full length indoor pool,” Cr. Ryan said.

“Instead they have asked staff to cost and do preliminary designs for all options including a 25-metre indoor pool.

“It’s time Cessnock was bold and visionary. It’s time we stopped providing our residents with second-rate infrastructure.”