haddy Posted July 7, 2018 Share Posted July 7, 2018 Wow this must be a record for turning a thread into a criticism of sheffield. From outdoor swimming pools to vandalised ofo bikes in one post.... It would be a nice thing to have - I’m not sure how much use it would get in the winter mind. Maybe it’s something they could incorporate into the new ski village development which I believe is going to have a canoeing facility - they are doing the consultation now - why not drip them an email with your idea? That will get burned down. Wait and see. Too many people without respect Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dutch Posted July 7, 2018 Share Posted July 7, 2018 (edited) I respect that locals here don't know or understand the joy of a basic non waterpark outdoor swimming pool. Many people here will be reactionary from the dry sunny heat and suddenly dream of some fantastic place to cool off. I grew up with outdoor pools from childhood till I came to Sheffield and am now talking about it with people that don't even have one. Asking if it would be nice if we had an outdoor pool. Where I come from everyone would say yes, great! Here people moan about money and weather and profitability of the pool. Again it is not my problem and enjoy the lovely summer either way. Edited July 7, 2018 by dutch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinfoilhat Posted July 7, 2018 Share Posted July 7, 2018 Because you want some fancy entertainment waterpark when it gets hot only. The pools I am talking about are a simple rectangular place to swim up and down or dive from the board. What you call a swimming pool here I call those a waterpark. It is not same thing. I often see when they have nothing at all they want a whole waterpark. My suggestion is to start with a simple normal pool. Our number of Olympic, world and commonwealth medals in swimming suggests we quite like swimming. ---------- Post added 07-07-2018 at 12:47 ---------- True... Which is why I was asking about Langold Lake, which also had a diving board and pontoons to swim from. Great days... I wondered if it had fallen to the health and safety mob. Well I'm going to assume it's in private hands now, I'm not sure who would have owned it then. Health and safety? Profitability? Lack of use? Probably a bit of all three. It sounds very much like the place I mentioned earlier. But as soon as young person dies in something like this, it's widely publicised and folk are told not to jump in. Maybe that didn't happen back then? You hear of plenty of swimming in lakes in US. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ECCOnoob Posted July 7, 2018 Share Posted July 7, 2018 (edited) I respect that locals here don't know or understand the joy of a basic non waterpark outdoor swimming pool. Many people here will be reactionary from the dry sunny heat and suddenly dream of some fantastic place to cool off. I grew up with outdoor pools from childhood till I came to Sheffield and am now talking about it with people that don't even have one. Asking if it would be nice if we had an outdoor pool. Where I come from everyone would say yes, great! Here people moan about money and weather and profitability of the pool. Again it is not my problem and enjoy the lovely summer either way. Maybe people here are just more rational, practical and level headed. Maybe people here think about the bigger picture and long term future before diving in (whey!) to some financial burden. In answer to the OP. YES! It would be nice to have an outdoor swimming pool on these hot sunny days. BUT, after the initial surge of people - then what? What happens the other 50 weeks of the year? Once the novelty dies off and climate returns to its usual position who is using it? Do you think if this thread was posted in the middle of a freezing, rainy, miserable November people would still be as keen to building such a facility? As others have posted, those rare outdoor pools that survive are mostly volunteer lead, local community donations, failing projects. Yes of course there are the exceptions such as Hampstead Ponds but they are long established almost historical sites. Despite that, even they have had to start charging people to swim there. You certainly cant replicate that in the middle of Sheffield and magically expect sufficient patrons. You cannot magically try and replicate the long-historical trend of outdoor swimming, pools, lagoons and lakes on the continent and instantly expect Brits to suddenly adopt it and be willing pay for it. Its not our long-standing cultue. You certainly cant expect the niche group of hard core outdoor swimming enthusiasts to keep such a facility funded either - there are simply not enough of them and certainly not enough to pay the money that would be required to run it. The fact remains there are ample facilities for swimmers in this city. For those serious competitive swimmers we have dedicated pools with all the size, shape, kit, timers and like minded users they want and need. For those just wanting lane swimming for gentle exercise, every major gym centre has a pool. For those that want just the occasional spalsh around there are several pools catering for them too - plus keeping them indoors means that they can still get footfall and money in the till when the clouds come over too. Pools costs money. Its not just about digging a hole and filling it with water. Tastes and trends change. Younger people these days expect more. Ever increasing numbers of Brits spend their summer time abroad or at specialist holday resorts. The world has moved on. Of course people "moan about money, weather and profitability". They are important and perfectly sensible things to think about. Why you raise that as some negative I really dont know. The world is not some fairy tale. We dont pay builders, contractors, suppliers and staff needed to create such a thing out of angel farts and pixie dust. Edited July 7, 2018 by ECCOnoob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dutch Posted July 8, 2018 Share Posted July 8, 2018 What you call practical and rational gives you a live without a pool. If Brexit is more important than a nice comfy relaxing outdoor swim on a summer day I wish you all the best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyclone Posted July 8, 2018 Share Posted July 8, 2018 Yes, not having a pool is how we expect things to continue. I have no desire to see a council that has had spending cut to the bone try to find the money to open an outdoor pool, I'd rather that it try to keep libraries open. And given that this weather is unseasonable, and outdoor swimming would be unpopular for the majority of the year I can't see any private company opening one to run as a profit making venture. That's the reality of life, we don't have a money tree, we have to prioritise public spending, and an outdoor pool is a poor use of public money in this country. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chriscalcite Posted July 9, 2018 Share Posted July 9, 2018 And given that this weather is unseasonable, and outdoor swimming would be unpopular for the majority of the year I can't see any private company opening one to run as a profit making venture. Yes, I guess it's a bit like skiing centres in the Cairngorms. Or the paddling pools in Rivelin Valley Park. Or owning an ice-cream van anywhere. Oh wait... The fact is that there are quite a few outdoor pools in the UK, the nearest only a dozen miles away. They are apparently gaining in popularity and they are apparently operating in a financially stable manner despite being seasonal. It can and is being done up and down the country. I don't think that you're going to make a fortune out of it, which like you say, would rule out most private companies. I also agree with you that the council shouldn't be responsible for this either - in an ideal world they would - but in the current (IMHO unjustified) financial circumstances, no way. Most of the pools and lidos appear to be operated by trusts and similar grass roots organisations These seem to be mostly groups of people who aren't out to scrape every last penny out the system for profit. It's almost as if you run something for the benefit of the community rather that the benefit of shareholders there's all sorts of other things you can do. And thus ends the Communist manifesto Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alchresearch Posted July 9, 2018 Share Posted July 9, 2018 If anyone really wants to swim outdoors that badly - and I don't think they do, otherwise they'd be at the town hall with placards demanding a pool - there's plenty of options since we're blessed with lots of clean lakes and rivers all around the town. https://wildswim.com/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/outdoorswimmingsociety/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/58467475344/ https://www.facebook.com/Wild-swimmers-south-yorkshire-river-rat-club-177966098902747/ https://www.facebook.com/wildswimming/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyclone Posted July 9, 2018 Share Posted July 9, 2018 Yes, I guess it's a bit like skiing centres in the Cairngorms. Or the paddling pools in Rivelin Valley Park. Or owning an ice-cream van anywhere. Oh wait... Well, I'm sure you're correct and I await with baited breath for the opening of the first privately run outdoor pool in Sheffield. I'm sure you can tell us which companies are working on them at this very moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SheffDon Posted July 9, 2018 Share Posted July 9, 2018 I was at Crookes Valley Park on Sunday evening and there were 3 people swimming in the lake. Sheffield’s version of the outdoor pool, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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