AN online meeting between Moree Plains Shire council representatives and members of the public was held last week to discuss ongoing issues with Moree Artesian Aquatic Centre and a proposed 50-metre pool complex at Taylor Oval.
About 50 people registered to hear updates from Moree Plains Shire mayor Susannah Pearse, general manager Natalia Cowley and director of planning and development, Darryl Fitzgerald.
Cr Pearse said council specifically programmed the online meeting following feedback from the community.
“A lot of our community members want to better understand what’s going on at present, and want to understand what’s happening at the Moree Artesian Aquatic Centre, and why council is looking at an alternative option for the development of a 50-metre pool at Taylor Oval,” Cr Pearse said.
“This is really about the 50-metre pool at this stage, and it’s about recognising that for five years we haven’t had a 50-metre pool, and that our kids have not been able to have swimming lessons.
“This really is about progressing a 50-metre pool for our kids as quickly as we possibly can, with the best options available to us.
“We note there is no perfect option in this situation, but what council has decided, is to progress looking at Taylor Oval as an option,” she said.
The community information session included questions submitted beforehand as well as an open forum after updates were presented by Mr Fitzgerald.
The original six-lane, 60-yard pool was built in 1913 and 64 years later facility improvements included additional brick buildings and amenities, as well as two enclosed, open-air hot pools.
The existing 50-metre pool site at MAAC.
A major redevelopment in 2011 included the demolition of all existing pools and the installation of new pools and infrastructure.
In 2020, the new 50-metre pool was decommissioned and demolished due to structural failures.
In 2024, a proposed development at the existing site included the construction of a new, eight-lane 50-metre pool, grandstand and associated earthworks.
Major issues with the MAAC site since the 2011 rebuild include water leaks and incorrect pipe sizes and fittings as well as plant room failures.
“In some instances, incorrect pipe sizes have tried to be fitted and the fittings connecting them have been inappropriate. In some instances, pipes used didn’t meet required standards,” Mr Fitzgerald said.
“We’ve had failures in the plant room and in January this year, we had Safe Work NSW close the facility.
“We had to address issues with pumps and pipelines for the transfer of chlorine and hydrochloric acid and installed a new chlorine tank at that time,” he said.
Mr Fitzgerald said one of the issues has been general deterioration of the plant and equipment that has passed its functional service life.
“This has included switchboards, controllers and pumps in the facility,” he said.
“We’ve also had failed sand filters, failed hot water systems and failed showers, and as recently as July this year, with the closure of the programme pool due to the failure of sand filters.
“There are three (sand filters) that service the programme pool. One failed in December, 2024 – ruptured internally – and that filter hadn’t been replaced.
“That put pressure on the remaining two filters, contributing to a breakdown in one of those,” he said.
Mr Fitzgerald said asset maintenance and replacement schedules have not been adhered to over time.
“This has contributed to resources and budgetary constraints being applied at the site,” he said.
“To this extent, the assets maintenance schedules have shown that plant that was due for replacement as far back as 2016 was not replaced, and continued to operate, contributing to some of the recent failures that council has experienced over the last few years.”
Moree Plains Shire Council utilised Roejen Engineering Services to provide an asset condition report in December, 2024.
Trisley’s Hydraulic Services are also being used to achieve improvement in equipment maintenance and to support local contractors.
“There is a need to re-route drainage, and another risk factor is ongoing ground movement, and some of the movement has been contributed by the leaks under the buildings,” he said.
Mr Fitzgerald said earthworks at the MAAC 50-metre pool site are unable to proceed because of water found when excavation commenced.
“Council has been for nearly the last 18 months continually responding to additional leaks that keep being discovered, and for the amount of work we undertake and fix, there is no guarantee more leaks won’t occur. This is simply a problem with operating in an old site, where we’re really retrofitting,” he said.
According to council, budgets and costings for the MAAC site redevelopment have blown out by “millions of dollars”, with council now considering an alternative site – Taylor Oval.
Moree Plains Shire general manager Natalia Cowley said the only plausible solution was to consider an alternative site that would provide some cost preservation.
“When we considered what an alternative site would be, the considerations we had to put in place were that it had to be a site that council owns,” she said.
“It had to be flood-free, because obviously building a pool in an environment that would be flooding would require additional construction. We only wanted to consider a flood-free site.
“Then we had to consider what was available that meets this criteria and when we considered far and wide, the site that actually made sense that council owns and is flood-free and originally zoned ‘recreation’, was Taylor Oval.”
Moree resident Dorothy Tighe strongly opposed the proposal to develop a 50-metre swimming pool complex on the site.
“Taylor Oval is a known burial site and was granted cultural and spiritual significance to us Gomeroi people,” she said.
“There may be further burials at the site that could be disturbed during any proposed future constructions.
“In either case, the site is of cultural and spiritual significance as a burial site.
“Taylor Oval is also currently registered as a site of significance under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974.”
The online forum and information session last Thursday covered a lot of factors for and against constructing a new 50-metre pool at Taylor Oval, with consultation between the Moree community and Moree Plains Shire Council to be ongoing.
Comments for this article were taken from last week’s meeting, with a video recording of the full session available here: Moree Plains Shire Council Online Forum and Information Session about MAAC and Taylor Oval.
