THE council announced today that the official reopening to the public of the Royal Commonwealth Pool is set for Wednesday 21st March 2012.
The £37m refurbishment by GRAHAM Construction is opening as expected in Spring 2012 after a two and a half year construction project. Former Olympic swimming champion, David Wilkie, will officially open the pool at a special ceremony in front of an invited audience.
Councillor Deidre Brock, Culture and Leisure Convener, said: “I’m absolutely delighted to be able to announce the reopening of our much loved Royal Commonwealth Pool following its painstaking refurbishment. This has been an incredibly complex engineering project which has transformed the Grade A-listed RCP into a truly world class aquatics facility. We know huge excitement is building across the city and beyond as people look forward to rediscovering – or indeed discovering – their beautifully modernised RCP, and we can’t wait to welcome them back!”
The RCP will host the diving events as part of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games and the British Swimming squad have selected the facility as the venue for their final training camp in July 2012 ahead of the London Olympics.
The City of Edinburgh Council, along with sportscotland, has funded the massive renovation and refurbishment programme.
Stewart Harris, Chief Executive of sportscotland, said:
“We’re delighted to have part-funded this exciting project. As an organisation, one of our priorities is to promote the positive power of sport, and the extensive refurbishment of the Royal Commonwealth Pool will provide the people of Edinburgh, and further afield, with a world-class facility. It means Scotland’s swimmers – of all ages and abilities – will have another superb training and competition venue at their disposal. “
The new features will include:
– A 50m, eight-lane pool for community and specialist swimming use with a boom capable of subdividing the pool into two areas;
– A re-orientated 25m diving pool up to 5m deep with moveable floor which can be used for swimming when not in use for diving;
– A dry dive facility including trampoline and springboards to allow divers to practise out of the pool;
– A 25m pool with moveable floor to accommodate warm-up provision, swimming lessons and informal play utilising pool toys;
– A refurbished and expanded gym and fitness studios; and
– A refurbished and redesigned changing village, meeting and conference rooms
