Waves
On 30th March 2009, the refurbished Whitley Bay Leisure Pool - now known as 'Waves' was officially opened.
The facility was originally built in the early 1970's and was state of the art at the time, incorporating a large pool with waves machine and slide; learner pool; diving pool, café, small gym and health suite. Public access was via a large ramp to a reception at first floor level but then downstairs again to the changing rooms and pool hall via an internal staircase. Unfortunately, there was no lift in the building, which meant that customers with mobility issues had to use a downstairs side entrance that was usually locked. The building was also highly energy inefficient, being built at a time when fuel costs were very low.
Following extensive public consultation exercises a regeneration strategy for the overall Whitley Bay Seafront was approved by the Council in early 2006. The strategy included the retention of the leisure pool on the basis of the extent of the existing investment and the Leisure Pool subsequently closed for major refurbishment works in summer 2007.
Funded by North Tyneside Council and ONE North East, the refurbishment has taken on board the need to make the building fully accessible to all customers; incorporate as much natural light as possible and introduce energy efficient measures such as insulation, as well as improving the visual impact of the building on its surrounding area.
Although some local concerns were raised about the removal of the original (but under used) diving pool and the old plunge baths within the health suite, the new facilities have been a huge success, so much so that there were long queues out of the door during the summer and numbers of customers have remained consistently high since, exceeding all targets. Waves has provided a facility which can be enjoyed by all age groups and has brought back people with young families to the centre.
The project was delivered at a cost of just over £8m, which represents excellent value for money compared to new build and given the high quality finish to the various elements of the building and the positive impact it has had on customers.
Waves forms a key part of the overall Whitley Bay Seafront/Spanish City island regeneration scheme, which also includes the refurbished Playhouse theatre, award winning Whitley Park children's playsite and the award winning skatepark, all of which have proved to be extremely popular with visitors.