THE New Year is to signal a facelift for Meadowlands pool in Tavistock, following an investment of more than £124,000 by West Devon Borough Council. The condition of the pool sparked criticism earlier this year by users who listed a string of complaints regarding water temperature, cleanliness and facilities. Now the borough has agreed a package of improvements which should see conditions at the outlet greatly improve for users. Mayor of West Devon Cllr Jayne Hill said: 'I think this news is absolutely fantastic and it was so brilliant that all councillors showed virtually unanimous support for the investment. 'Swimming pools are expensive items to run and this is a huge amount of money for the council to find, but everybody felt it should be supported.' Cllr Hill said members had been conscious that with the new Parklands development in Okehampton, residents in the Tavistock area could be feeling 'short-changed'. 'I think it's great that we are going to get Meadowlands back in to tip-top condition — hopefully, the facelift for the pool will be a real boost for the New Year,' said Cllr Hill. Nick Payne, the borough's environment director, said: 'The council is fully committed to carrying out the capital improvements to Meadowlands pool. 'We have decisions to take on which contractors we decide to take on and we are working with Leisure Connections, which runs Meadowlands, on a timetable for these works in order to keep disruption to a minimum.' The biggest investment is in the air handling unit — a huge heat exchanger and ventilation system which heats and cools the air and circulates it, to maintain ambient temperature and control condensation. Currently, the unit cannot heat the air to the required levels and excessive condensation is affecting the fabric of the building. The borough is investigating two options — whether to re-build the existing system at a cost of £50,000 or put in a new one, which carries a £90,000 price tag. Two of the six gas boilers are also out of service, awaiting new parts, but they are prone to breaking down, are not efficient by modern day standards and really need to be replaced. The borough's engineer is investigating new boiler systems — replacements are likely to cost around £20,000. Around £10,000 will be spent on a new water treatment system, similar to the ultra violet system used at Parklands in Okehampton. And the showers, which currently are unreliable, ineffective and frequently cold, will also be tackled. Around £10,000 is likely to be spent on replacement systems. The timetable for the works is subject to a decision on which contractors to appoint, but the showers are likely to be replaced within the next month or so, followed by the air handling unit in spring and the boilers and UV unit in the summer.
