Work approved to improve Splash Pad performance

Melksham Town Council has voted to spend over £26,000 on improving the efficiency of the Splash Pad following an ‘unreliable’ season last year.

Councillors at the Amenities and Facilities Committee meeting on 9th February agreed to spend £10,216 on commissioning a swimming pool specialist, Topline, to install a new chlorine dosing system at the facility to improve performance.

Councillors also voted to pay £16,000 to Splash, which installed the facility, for ongoing maintenance and a filter replacement.

The improvements will be funded from this year’s playgrounds budget.

The vote was taken after the council reviewed three quotes from specialists and said it had been advised by an expert at Neptune Aquatics.

Last year the Splash Pad was closed for a total of 44 days due to technical faults, safety concerns linked to the newly installed flooring lifting, and hygiene issues.

Chair of the meeting Cllr Adrienne Westbrook said the ongoing closures had a ‘major’ effect on King George V Park. She said, “If you go down to the park in the summer and you have a look around when the Splash Pad is working, you have probably got 200/250 people actually in the park. When I went down when the Splash Pad wasn’t working, there were probably about five or six. It is our absolute gem. It had major effects upon the cafe.

“The amount of work and time put into trying to get that Splash Pad working last August was phenomenal really but if you haven’t got the chlorine coming out you can’t run the Splash Pad. It’s absolutely vital we get the Splash Pad right.”