Celebrations for pool anniversary

Celebrations for pool anniversary

26 June 2013

DOWN Council is to formally recognise the contribution Newcastle’s outdoor Rock Pool has made to the heritage of the resort’s harbour area.

The pool — which is filled with sea water — opened in June 1933, but its 80th anniversary earlier this month wasn’t celebrated. That is now going to happen thanks to the efforts of Newcastle councillor Willie Clarke.

He has persuaded Down Council to organise an event to mark the anniversary and for the local authority to do more to promote the facility which he described as “unique.”

Councillor Clarke said during its first year in business the Rock Pool attracted almost 24,000 visitors and that while the facility was hugely popular in the years after it opened, it suffered a decline in the 1950s.

“The pool subsequently reinvented itself and started offering lifesaving classes which are still very popular to this day,” he told councillors on Monday night.

“The pool offers a sea water swimming experience which is its unique selling point and something which we should make more of. Thousands of children have learnt to swim at this pool over the years and it has also inspired many people to become involved in lifesaving training.”

Councillor Clarke said the Rock Pool benefits the local economy and is located at one of the most historical parts of old Newcastle town.

He added: “We need to maximise the number of people who use the facility and that will require a proper marketing strategy. Perhaps we could bring children from housing estates across the town to use the pool and maybe learn lifesaving skills,” he added.

Councillor Carmel O’Boyle highlighted the

need to make the Rock Pool, which is open during July and August, more sustainable and said she and councillor Clarke have been meeting with the Friends of the Rock Pool to discuss its future.

She added: “The pool’s 80th birthday was not marked by a special event but we hope to do something about that over the coming months. The Rock Pool offers an opportunity to swim in sea water without the danger of being in open water. Perhaps there are not enough people who know about the opportunities the historic pool provides.”

Councillor Dessie Patterson said he was “fully supportive” of any initiatives to promote the Rock Pool and what it has to offer to the people of Newcastle.