MidCoast Council extends season for pools, but reduces some opening hours under trial

THIS summer’s outdoor swimming season will be extended until 24 April next year, following community calls over the past two years for pools to remain open longer.

MidCoast councillors voted in favour of a trial extension to Saturday, 24 April 2027.

All of the LGA’s outdoor pools will remain open during the April school holidays, but with shorter opening times at three of the seven pools – Tea Gardens, Gloucester, and Taree.

Previously, the outdoor swimming season ended in conjunction with daylight saving, which finishes on 3 April.

“We’ve heard from our community that having access to outdoor pools during the April school holidays is important, particularly when the warmer weather can continue beyond the end of daylight saving,” said Liam Bulley, MidCoast Council’s Executive Manager Public Spaces.

“This trial allows us to respond to that feedback and see how the community uses our pools during an extended season.”

During the extended period, supervised pools at Tea Gardens, Gloucester, and Taree will operate under reduced opening hours of 11am and 3pm. Unsupervised pools at Nabiac, Krambach, Stroud and Bulahdelah will operate with their normal summer opening hours

The total cost of extending the season across all outdoor pools is estimated at $57,203, with visitation numbers and costs closely monitored throughout the trial.

“We want to understand how many people take advantage of the longer season and balance that against the additional cost of keeping our pools open,” Bulley said.

“The information we gather will help council make an informed decision about whether an extended outdoor swimming season should continue in future years.”