Yet another Prince Alfred Park Pool debacle

The City of Sydney Council’s troubled Prince Alfred Park Pool project has hit yet another snag, with information on the pool’s opening date released this week and then subsequently withdrawn.

In a surprise move on Monday, a post on the pool’s official Facebook page announced an opening date of Friday, May 10.

The entry on Monday afternoon declared: “We are happy to announce the pool will open on the 10th May 2013! Head to our website for opening hours and more!”

The pool’s official website confirmed the May 10 opening date and stated that the City of Sydney would conduct an “opening trial on Prince Alfred Park Pool as a year round facility. This trial will be to determine if the Centre is to continue to operate as a year round facility.”

However, true to the beleaguered nature of the project, the company contracted to operate the facility – Belgravia Leisure – appears to have announced the details without informing the City of Sydney.

On Monday night, when asked about the Facebook post, a spokesperson for Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore dismissed the Facebook post as speculation.

“Facebook is speculating on something that hasn’t yet been decided, but the City has received the Occupation Certificate which means we now control the site and are moving contractors, equipment, staff, etc., into the site,” said the spokesperson.

When informed that the post was actually on the pool’s official Facebook page, the spokesperson advised that the City was unaware of the apparent opening date, and that the operators had posted it without consulting the City.

“We can’t confirm that opening date, it’s been posted without consultation, but we can say opening is imminent and we’ll be in a position to release more information shortly.”

Late on Monday night, the Facebook post announcing a May 10 opening was amended to say it may not occur on that date after all.

“We would like to correct our earlier posting to let you know that we are working to have Prince Alfred Park Pool open on 10 May,” said the statement.

“There are lots of small items of work we hope to have done by then and will let you know later in the week whether we will be ready to open.”

All mention of a May 10 opening was removed from the pool’s website. At press time, the website simply advised: “Prince Alfred Park Pool Opening soon!”

The latest fiasco comes on the back of numerous delays and other issues relating to the project.

The City of Sydney first announced plans to redevelop Prince Alfred Park Pool in 2005.

The pool closed in April 2008 and was originally scheduled to re-open in 2010.

Revised opening dates of November 2011, July 2012, December 2012 and March 2013 have not been met.

The project has been beset by disagreements between the City of Sydney and the builders, Walton Construction, with Walton seeking and receiving an undisclosed payout from the City for “unforeseen costs” such as waste removal relating to site contamination.