Dad of two criticises busy Northampton leisure centre after 'cold' swimming pool leaves young daughter 'shivering'

A dad of two has criticised a busy Northampton leisure centre after its “disappointingly cold” swimming pool left his 18-month-old daughter “shivering”.

Steve Norfolk, from Moulton, took his eight year old son and 18-monthold daughter to Danes Camp Leisure Centre on Sunday (November 27) for a family afternoon out. However, the day out turned sour within the first five minutes of entering the pool.

Steve said: "Walking into the pool area it was pretty chilly. Getting into the water it was not take your breath away cold but it was cold. It was a lot colder than what you'd expect. Within five minutes my little one started shivering and her teeth were chattering.

"I asked the lifeguard if the temperature was right because it felt really cold compared to previous experiences and she said 'all the pools within the Trilogy group have reduced the temperature down due to the energy prices going up'."

Steve said the manager checked and said the pool temperature “was all ok and within the threshold”.

Steve said: "The manager suggested taking the kids into the shower to warm up, that kind of defeats the object of going swimming. It's not a fun experience when your kids are freezing. If you're active in the pool you can probably build your temperature up, but when you have an 18-month-old who can't swim and is pottering around the baby area, it was not a nice experience for her.

"I understand the justification if they have to drop the temperature down, it's more a case of public awareness really. If they put the prices up a couple of quid to counter the cost to keep the pool at a higher temperature I'd be more than happy to pay it and I think other people would be as well.

"We won't be going back there for a while.”

Asked for two words to sum up his 45-minute experience, Steve said: “Disappointing. Cold.”

Trilogy Leisure, which runs Danes Camp and multiple sites across Northampton, has come back with a statement and said it is “taking some necessary actions to reduce their carbon footprint”, which includes “the management of pool temperatures”.

John Fletcher managing director of Trilogy Leisure said: "We are sorry to hear that one of our customers is concerned about the temperatures at one of our pools

“Like many other successful businesses and organisations we have recently conducted a thorough audit and developed a framework to ensure we reduce energy consumption and our impact on the environment.

"Some of the necessary actions we’re taking to reduce our carbon footprint while ensuring our members can continue to enjoy using our facilities is the management of the temperature levels in our swimming pools, gyms, and studios but our customers can be assured that we bench-mark those temperature levels and adhere to the nationally recognised carbon trust guidance.”

There have also been reports that other pools around the county have low temperature levels including Daventry Leisure Centre, which is run by Everyone Active – the company that also runs the new Moulton leisure centre.

Jamie Brightwell Everyone Active’s contract manager said: “We adhere to the pool water treatment advisory group guidelines, which state that a swimming pool should be between 26 and 32 degrees.

“Whilst we have reduced our temperatures to help save energy, they all remain within these guidelines. Our pools cater for all types of customers – from athletes to babies – and we try to maintain a balance to ensure the temperatures remain comfortable for everyone.

“However, as an organisation, we are facing significant increases in energy costs – an issue impacting the whole country – and a one-degree reduction in pool temperature can result in a saving of up to 10% in energy use. This will go a long way to helping us manage energy costs in the current climate.

“This is a situation we are continually reviewing and we will take customer feedback on board, as our key aim is to keep people active in the local communities we serve.”