Invercargill’s Splash Palace is set to close during June to allow for upgrades and planned maintenance.

The facility will close from Monday 30 May to Sunday 3 July to allow the work to be undertaken, which will include painting, replacing the bulkhead in the 50m pool and installing a new flooring system to make entry into the pool safer for pool users and more comfortable to users in the shallow end of the leisure pool.

Council Group Manager Leisure and Recreation Steve Gibling said while there would be an impact on pool users, Council needed to do this important work to maintain the community’s much-loved Splash Palace.

“The full closure is required due to the nature and scale of the maintenance work involved,” he said.

“We are simply unable to keep the facility open and carry out this work without compromising the health and safety of our staff and visitors, and the experience of pool users, but we expect that the work will be done before the July school holidays.”

Mr Gibling said the benefits would be in having a fully functional bulkhead for swim meets and for the public, and a better and safer user experience in the leisure pool.

“We’re so pleased to be able to keep our pools safe as well as looking good, and we’re happy to have been able to arrange a time to do this work over the colder months when it’s quieter.”

As some of the pools will need to be emptied, other key maintenance work will be done at the same time, including pump servicing, pipe repairs and replacement and chemical and heating systems maintenance.

The public can expect a refreshed facility when it reopens in early July, Mr Gibling said.

Council allocated a budget of approximately $1 million for the maintenance within the Long-term Plan last year.

The last full facility closure at Splash Palace was in December 2009.