Brighton's Saunders Park paddling pool closed over chlorine

The temporary closure of Saunders Park pool in Lewes Road, Brighton, has been blamed on a national shortage of the chemical, which is added to the water to kill germs.

The council said it was a hard decision and it hoped the pool will reopen to the public as soon as possible.

The closure comes at the start of a summer heatwave with temperatures expected to soar to 34C this week.

A Brighton and Hove City Council spokeswoman said: “Due to the national shortage of chlorine, and following discussions with Freedom Leisure, we have taken the difficult decision to close Saunders Park paddling pool until further notice.

“As the chlorine shortage continues, we need to prioritise and divert all of our remaining supplies to the city’s three main swimming pools - King Alfred Leisure Centre, Prince Regent Swimming Complex and St Luke’s Swimming Pool, to keep them open for as long as possible.

Saunders Park Paddling Pool in Saunders Park, Lewes Road. Picture: Tony Wood

“We have not taken this decision lightly and we will reopen the paddling pool as soon as we can and when normal deliveries of chlorine resume.”

The council said the water play feature at The Level remains open.

City councillor Robert Nemeth said he was looking into the situation.

“I have submitted an urgent question to tourism, equalities, communities and culture committee on this topic that will shortly be answered publicly,” he said.

“While it is true that there is a shortage of chlorine, it is key that we understand what steps were taken to limit the effects on residents and our tourism industry locally. I would be very upset to hear that we have ended up worst affected.”

Freedom Leisure has been contacted for comment.

It is another blow for families as last week the paddling pool at Hove lagoon was also forced to shut because its flooring began to peel away.

The rubber crumb flooring, which was only fitted last year, lifted from the bottom of the pool.

The contractor that fitted the rubber flooring said it would replace it at no charge to the city council.

Despite this, families were expressing their anger at its closure via social media, with many criticising “cheap labour” initially used to complete the work.