Splash Centre management handed back to the council

Published on 15 August 2022

Sport Whanganui has announced it will not seek to enter into a new contract for the management of the council’s Splash Centre this year. Instead the facility and its services will be brought in-house and managed directly by Whanganui District Council. 

Sport Whanganui’s chair John Unsworth says, “After 20 years of pool management Sport Whanganui is very happy to hand the Splash Centre’s management back to the council, safe in the knowledge that all the current staff will be retained and it will be ‘business as usual’ for the community.”

The council is working with Sport Whanganui through an agreed transition period that will ensure continuity of operations and service from a handover date of 1 September 2022. 

Whanganui District Council’s chief executive David Langford says, “The council recognises and appreciates Sport Whanganui’s 20-year contribution as the contract holder for our community pools, which included a period managing the Whanganui East pools.

“We look forward to continuing to work in collaboration with Sport Whanganui on current and future initiatives that contribute to the wellbeing of the community,” he says.

Splash Centre staff were advised of the change in June. The council has committed to providing all Splash Centre staff with the opportunity to move across to the council with as little disruption as possible.