PLANS are progressing for an outdoor 50m, eight-lane pool on part of Les Jardins de la Mer, which includes a gym and wellness centre, up to 250 bleacher seats, a café, public viewing platform and new wet play area.
The pool and its surrounds form the first phase of fresh plans to develop the entire Waterfront area from Aquasplash, which is staying, to West Park, including the cinema complex, the large car park southeast of the gardens, and the undeveloped parts of the Esplanade car park.
Previous plans proposed by Jersey Development Company were rejected at the end of 2023.
After going back to the drawing board, JDC is now developing plans for the pool as part of the first phase, although it will be submitted as part of a single Waterfront planning application.
The publicly owned developer has commissioned indicative designs for the pool complex from local architects MS Planning and has formed a working group with organisations that would use it, including water polo players, triathletes and swimming clubs.
The plans were recently unveiled to the group for their feedback on the design, including practical matters such as pool depth, facilities and the water temperature.
JDC chief executive officer Lee Henry said: “The pool concept scored very highly in the public consultation that we carried out, and we are now in the very early stages of coming up with designs.
“One of clear steers from the government was that the pool cannot be a liability, which is why these plans include a gym and wellness centre to contribute revenue. The next stage is to engage with potential operators; we envisage that whoever runs the pool would also run the gym.”
Current plans are for the pool and gym complex to be built where the existing fountains and wet-play area are in Les Jardins de la Mer. The 50m x 22m pool would run roughly east to west and be sunken down to protect it from the prevailing westerly wind.
The café, gym, changing rooms, wellness area, pool equipment and stores would be housed in a building to the north, which would have a publicly accessible roof looking down over the pool, 3.5m below. The wet-play area would move to the west of the pool, overlooking it, and the open lawn area would be retained to the south.
The pool will be chlorinated and heated, to provide year-round outdoor swimming.
It is designed to be a ‘swimmer’s pool’ rather than a leisure pool, although Mr Henry said that it is likely that there would be children’s play sessions with inflatables during the school summer holidays.
The pool depth is still to be finalised but it is likely to be deep enough for adult water polo matches to be played. A boom will probably to be fitted, allowing the pool to be sub-divided into 2 x 25m zones so multiple games can be played, or different clubs can train simultaneously.
Responding to the initial plans, Jersey Water Polo Association co-president Max Treharne said: “It’s really exciting. It would be brilliant for the club to have a ‘double-deep’ pool that we can use to host tournaments and events to train; it will allow us to compete at a high level.
“I very much hope that it will go ahead and I look forward to seeing what’s to come.”
Simon O’Donoghue, who founded the Jersey to France Relay Swim, said: “It looks great. What particularly impressed me wasn’t just the pool but the whole package, and also that the designers have consulted with the British Swimming Association to make sure it meets all the key requirements.
“There is also a lot of knowledge and experience in the Island, and I’m glad that JDC is tapping into that. We’ve got a great opportunity here to get it right.”
