The Thames Centennial Pool will undergo a $35,000 repainting project over summer to keep it operating while decisions are made about its replacement.
The Thames Community Board approved the spend at its October 12 meeting, with the work expected to take place between December, 2026, and April, 2027.
The pool was previously closed over a two-week period last summer following an outbreak of black mould, and Thames-Coromandel District Council told The Profile that repainting it now was critical to maintaining water quality and keeping the facility open.
“The work has to take place in summer so the pool can be emptied and completely dried before the repainting takes place. The pool needs to be washed and waterblasted, and any defects identified and repaired. The surface will then be smoothed out to remove any loose or flaking material. Once the pool is completely dry,” council said, “a skim coating will be applied followed by an epoxy primer and two-to-three topcoats.”
The $35,000 project comes as the future of the 50-plus-year-old facility remains undecided.
Council previously gave an undertaking to Ngāti Maru to close the pool in mid-2027 and remove it from its site at Taipari Park by the end of that year, as the land is an urupā (burial ground).
However, Thames Community Board chair Adrian Catran said the iwi had “graciously and without fanfare” agreed to the pool staying on the site for longer to allow a smooth transition to a new facility.
He said the current pool could remain until it reached the end of its usable life or Thames-Coromandel District Council made a decision on a replacement.
Council is planning a replacement facility at Thames High School and intends to include funding for it in the first three years of its 2027-2037 Long Term Plan, covering the 2027-2030 financial years. The draft plan will go out for public consultation in early 2027.
Once a final funding decision has been made, council will confirm arrangements with Ngāti Maru for decommissioning the existing pool.
Mr Catran said the pool served the wider Coromandel district, with swimmers travelling from places including Tairua and Whangamatā. He recalled one particularly dedicated user who flew to Thames from the Coromandel to swim, using a taxi to get between the airfield and the pool.
He said replacing the ageing facility had been on the community board’s agenda for 20 years before the issue was referred to TCDC in 2025.
“It was built to celebrate the 1973 Borough Council Centenary… it’s got a lot of history, that pool,” he said. “But we’ve looked after the child now for 20 years – the community boards – and we’re no further ahead than we were 20 years ago.”
BY KELLEY TANTAU
