The Kintyre Forum

The Aqualibrium is starting to take shape nicely and looks like a very imposing building in the town.

Anyone know when it opens etc?

Wee photo from Saturday...

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Don't worry Pete Reek - that is on the cards!

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We have a new swimming pool where i live and the children's pool has a floor that can be lowered on raised for disabled access. It has had a few teething troubles such as the hydrolics breaking down and the floor not being abled to be lowered.The 25m pool does not have this facility but does have a hoist and interchangable steps for those who want to use that pool. It seems to be a great sucess here with lots of diffrent groups now using the facilities. This pool has had some of the problems Campbeltown has has, they did not build it in reclaimed land but on top of a slag pile.

Hi - I am new to this board - funny how a super idea like this somtimes escape people! I've spent the last couple of days reading the informative posts and enjoying the banter.

So I'll start of with this one which could be a little bit controversial!

I think the new Aqualibrium is looking pretty impressive and it is great to see the town benefiting from the work going on etc.

However, does anyone else, like me, think that for £7 million pounds we are getting very little? What is it? a 25 m swimming pool, library, fitness suite and cafe? Now if I have £7 million pound to build a house I could build all of that and a house with gold taps and still have a few million in the bank!

This is not just "typical Campbeltown" attitude. I genuinely believe we have been 'had'. For that kind of money should we not have a sports hall and/or flumes and/or squash courts and/or bowling alley??

Problem is it is all too late! And before anyone says it - I did attend the meetings!

Don't get me wrong - it is going to be far superior to what we had but £7 million is alot of money and it will be a long long time before the Council invests money like that in the town again!

I also heard a project like this has been done before in England and that particular swimming pool closed. Not enough money was allocated from the budget for running costs, so it was closed to save money.
Hopefully this is not the case for the Aqualibrium and enough money is allocated from future budgets.

I think a lot of the £7 million build cost would have been used in preparing the foundations, unusual shape (extra cost) and a lot of reinforced concrete, but I could be wrong. It certainly seems to be solidly built, time will tell.

Thanks Dave P for you photograph ,it's nice to see the new buildings in the town and how they are progressing .
What I can't understand is why they built the unit on the same land which failed to support the previous Building . £ 7 Million is an awfull lot for the facilities there seems to be , perhaps Michael is right and instead of the money going to give the Toon a Unique Pool they had to spend most of it to stop the Reclaimed land swallowing it up . Why could they not build it else where to prevent a repeat of the failures that happened to the old Swimming Pool building .
Who is going to maintain the new building , as I believe that a lack of maintenance helped to shut the old Pool ?
With great Concerns
Frosty

Frosty wrote:Thanks Dave P for you photograph ,it's nice to see the new buildings in the town and how they are progressing .
What I can't understand is why they built the unit on the same land which failed to support the previous Building . £ 7 Million is an awfull lot for the facilities there seems to be , perhaps Michael is right and instead of the money going to give the Toon a Unique Pool they had to spend most of it to stop the Reclaimed land swallowing it up . Why could they not build it else where to prevent a repeat of the failures that happened to the old Swimming Pool building .
Who is going to maintain the new building , as I believe that a lack of maintenance helped to shut the old Pool ?
With great Concerns
Frosty

Frosty - I've heard this comment a number of times. However, I have to agree with their choice of sites. Right in the town center and means the facilities round about will hopefully be used more too.

You have to remember they build houses in the middle of lochs now adays so there should be no worries there. The problem with the old pool was it wasn't done right and I haste to add SW choice to pile 60m into the ground besides it didn't help!

For me right choice of site but the money is all in the structure - an architects dream building - a community's loss...

I believe that the problem with the old swwimming pool was not that it was built on reclaimed land, just look at Japan, Korea and other asian counties where massive structures are built on it, but more to do with the fact that they (George Leslie) dug a massive hole 25m or so deep directly next to the swimming pool, causing the foundations to be weakened severely. I believe that when the previous pool was built no architect could possibly have compensated for this. Here's hoping that the aquilibrium is a success, but putting all that chlorine next to lots of books? IMO that is just asking for trouble. Hope the architects have compensated for what could end up being a MAJOR problem for the library.

Hi MJ and Working Boot

Good to hear your replies .
Yes it is physically the best place for the building , but what happens to that area when it rains heavily ? ! ? ! You don't need a Pool as the steets and park become a pool on thier own .
The last Pool was built with Funds raised by Locals ( I can remember standing on the back of a lorry travelling up Longrow and Main Street with an outstretched bucket collecting pennies and sixpences ) I know a lot of people were disapointed with the faults and closure of the old Pool , I just hope the authorities have considered all implications and that they will look after this building a not let it get into the same mess as the old one .
Regards
Frosty

I cant agree with your comments (M.J) with regards to George Leslie being responsible for the closure off our old pool. I worked on that construction,,,, and before any ground was removed the complete site was piled, thus preventing any possible ground collapse or subsidence, internally and externally, if this was not the case, health and safety would not have given the go ahead to carry on with excavations. However, there is a very high chance that the vibrations from the piling that had to be done, did do some damage.....

I was very friendly with a John Angus who worked for the people who put the severage in about 70,s I think and always remember him saying they were crazy to put it where it was as it was only a matter of time till it"sunk" Hope its not the case again sunken pool ..sunken library.Anybody remembers John he sadly died just after leaving here and Shenna having twins.

Who is going to maintain the new building , as I believe that a lack of maintenance helped to shut the old Pool ?

Michael, you are so right about the sub-structure and design eating a large chunk out of the budget. After the fiasco in Edinburgh you would have thought that someone would have learned a lesson about grand designs.

As far as maintenance is concerned, I am sure that Argyll & Bute will quickly offer the building to a "community enterprise" on the same basis as the Oban pool that is operated by Atlantis Leisure. To be brief, this allows the company, that will register as a charity, to take a peppercorn rent for probably 99 years, pay virtually no rates and it will qualify for major grants if it requires to develop further. There are obviously many other issues to this but this outlines the bare bones.

oorly

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