Community wants NBAC to stay open

COMMUNITY members are calling on the City of Greater Geelong to reconsider the closure of the recently opened North Bellarine Aquatic Centre (NBAC) after learning it will close at the end of the month until November.

A petition being circulated both online and at the aquatic centre in Drysdale is urging the city to keep the facility operational until the end of May.

It notes that should the city maintain the $15.5 million NBAC’s existing opening hours, it will be closed for a greater portion of the year than it will be open.

Online, the petition amassed more than 1,000 signatures in less than four days.

Corangamite Labor federal member Libby Coker has backed community requests for a change to the facility’s planned closure, writing to the city to urge it to keep the NBAC open until the end of April.

She has similarly urged the city to consider reopening the facility again in October, rather than November.

“Right from the outset, my consistent message to council was the community wanted a pool that would be open and accessible on an ongoing basis,” she said.

“Unfortunately, my concerns and the concerns of the community regarding year-round access have proven valid.”

Liberal Victorian Senator Sarah Henderson has also criticised the city’s intention to close the NBAC for seven months.

She said the federal Labor Government must ensure the NBAC remains open 12 months of the year, stating Ms Coker has “failed to stand up for the Bellarine” with her request to increase the facility’s opening hours by two months.

“With 24,000 visits since it opened last November, the aquatic centre has proved to be a dream come true and a wonderful asset for the health and wellbeing of our community,” she said.

“Bellarine residents deserve the right to access this facility all year around.”

Stage 2 of the NBAC involves the construction of a 25m indoor swimming pool at the site situated opposite Bellarine Secondary College.

“The community have an expectation that the centre will be open year-round once complete,” Ms Coker said. “There is an onus on council to meet this expectation.”

The City of Greater Geelong had not responded to questions as this paper went to print.