Community rallies to save Thames Park Pool in Old South

A large group of Londoners from across the city came together Sunday to express how big of an impact the outdoor Thames Park Pool in the Old South neighbourhood has had on their community and why it deserves to be saved.

"There's been generations of children who have swam in this pool and it's a place for families to come," said Kelly Kleinhans, who's lived in Wortley Village for more than 50 years.

"It's athletics and it's recreation, so there's just a whole multitude of groups that have relied on this [pool] and I think it's worth saving if they can," she added.

City staff are suggesting decommissioning the pool because of ongoing structural concerns and the hefty $238,500 worth of repair bills the 96-year-old facility has cost the city since 2016. Staff have presented councillors with options with a full rebuild costing $12 million. 

The underlying problem with the pool, according to the report, is that there's no way to guard against future damage by flooding or frost heave. 

But many in the community say the expense, for a pool that has 25,000 visitors each season, is worth it. 

"We've heard through emails and social media that people are passionate about saving it and we wanted to get them together in the same space," Nicole Phillips said, president of the Old South Community Organization (OSCO)

"I heard from young and elderly folks that a lot of memories have been made at this pool, so it's great that people got an opportunity to share that here."

On Tuesday, city councillors unanimously agreed to study more options and look at ways to open the pool for the 2024 season as it will remain closed this summer. That decision will be formalized at the April 4 council meeting. 

A special training ground, says former Paralympian

Retired Canadian Paralympic swimmer Adam Purdy attended Sunday's rally and described how many hours he's spent at the facility training. 

"I've seen what this place can do for families. Not only did it engage the community but it's a gathering place for sport enthusiasts like myself, and local community members as well. It's a training ground but also a place to bring your family," Purdy said.

Julie McLellan's son David represented Canada at 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. She says the pool's 50m size is a rare feature that allows swimmers to train at the lengths they're going to compete in, which is important for their timing and strokes. 

"[My son] was swimming in this pool every morning from May right through till the end of July, and it was an important part of the training," McLellan said.

The pool has generational significance for McLellan whose parents swam in the original pool when it was built in 1926, plus her own fond memories of swimming lessons. 

Jason Wedlake started a petition last week to save the pool which, at the time of publication, had more than 4,000 signatures. He describes the response as "overwhelming and unbelievable." 

"It's the identity of Old South and the recreational and competitive swimmers from this city," Wedlake said. 

More transparency needed from city reports 

Some at the rally said they were concerned by the absence of public consultations in such a major decision. Many expressed that they felt city reports lacked information about community impact, and that more transparency was needed.  

"We understand there are limitations but there's probably solutions that can work with those limitations and with what the community wants. We just want all the options on the table," Phillips said.

"These types of issues take a lot of discussion and feedback from people who use this pool the most," Purdy said. "Taking away a historic gem like this will leave a gaping hole in the city of London's community."