Trust Horizon grant helps bring new energy to Whakatāne Aquatic Centre
The Whakatāne Aquatic Centre’s outdoor pool is gearing up for its busiest winter yet, following the long-awaited installation of an all-weather pool cover enclosure – made possible with funding from Trust Horizon.
The Trust contributed a total of $400,000 towards the project, designed to ensure the Aquatic Centre could cater to the region’s ever-growing population. “With the outdoor pool previously unusable in winter, the Aquatic Centre’s growth over those months was limited,” says Andrew Smith, Whakatāne District Council Aquatics and Recreation Manager. “The new cover opens up the use of six extra lanes every winter, and means we can have the maximum number of lanes available to the public all year round.”
The pool cover will let the Aquatic Centre almost double the number of group classes on offer, expand the swim club, and provide a more sun-safe environment for swimmers. It also gives the facility the ability to welcome an additional 50 to 100 people each night over winter. “The cover has the potential to help us see 200,000 users this year, up from 150,000,” says Mr. Smith. “This means we’ll be getting more people more active more often. And in a town that’s surrounded by water, having a safe, fun, clean environment for more kids and adults to learn to swim is fantastic.”
A fitter, healthier, and more swim-safe community isn’t the new pool cover’s only benefit. As part of the project, the outdoor pool’s gas heating system was upgraded to an electric heat pump – bringing significant environmental benefits, too. “Electricity is a very clean source of energy, so the carbon savings we’ll make by switching from gas are incredible,” says Mr. Smith.
Plans for a more energy-efficient pool cover had been in the pipeline for a number of years, and Trust Horizon is pleased to be one of the funders that helped make the project a reality. “Being an open air pool, we understand it was expensive to heat during the winter months,” says Trust Horizon Trustee, Dave Bulley. “It’s great to see that the new cover and heat pump will help solve this issue, as well as increase the use of the facility, and bring long-lasting benefits to our community.”
Trust Horizon is committed to investing in projects that bring transformational change to the Whakatāne, Ōpōtiki, Kawerau, and Kaingaroa Village communities. Driving the region forward, and bringing prosperity and pride to its people. You can view more of our projects here and find out more about funding eligibility here.