Lessons must be learned from Peebles Swimming Pool ‘debacle’

The leisure facility finally reopened in August this year – almost 14 months after a blaze on its roof which forced its closure.

The closure had a major impact on leisure provision in the town, particularly for the 580 children on the Peebles Learn to Swim programme.

The repair bill for bringing the popular pool back into use was £1.33m.

That includes £781,000 on fire reinstatement works and £370,000 for a replacement roof.

At a meeting of the full council on Thursday, October 26, Peebles & District councillor Robin Tatler asked a question on the progress of a council Lessons Learned Report over the matter.

He said: “At the council’s Executive on April 18 it was agreed that a Lessons Learned Report in relation to the Peebles Swimming Pool debacle would be brought back to the Executive for their consideration.

“It is now six months since that meeting, when will the report come to the Executive?”

In response, Councillor Mark Rowley, SBC’s executive member for Service Delivery and Transformation, said: “It is very important that when things go wrong that we do a Lessons Learned process and bring it back.

“There have been initial Lessons Learned discussions and a formal workshop is being arranged with our insurers Zurich in the coming weeks which will inform that process.

“This is expeced to take place once the final insurance settlement has been agreed, which is going to be relatively soon, I hope.

“A report will then be prepared for consideration by the council’s Executive Committee, following that Lessons Learned workshop with officers and insurers. We expect to bring that back in December, 2023.”