Europe: Brussels has revealed plans for the city to finally have its own open-air swimming pool on the capital’s canal in three years’ time.
With Brussels recovering from this recent week’s heatwave, access to the water has once again become a political concern.
Moreover, Benoit Hellings, the City’s Climate and Sports Councillor, mentioned in the statement, “Children dived and swam in the canal, which is unsuitable for swimming.”
He added to the statement that “it is therefore important that this access to water can be provided in the Brussels Region, in a place that is easily and quickly accessible to those who want to go there.”
The city has made the decision to build the pool along the Quai des Péniches, located in the health of Brussels’ Northern Quarter.
The location is accessible easily by public transport with the metro lines 2 and 6 and the 51 tram running nearby, while also being in close proximity to Gare du Nord.
It has been expected that the pool will be about 355 metres long and 13 metres wide, equating to 7 Olympic pools with a daily capacity of 2,400 people per day and 480 visitors at a time.
Moreover, for ecological purposes, the pool will be equipped with a natural filtration system upstream and downstream of the swimming area.
In terms of who will run it, Hellings mentioned that the city should consider who would administer the pool from the outside.
Therefore, they have opted to delegate this responsibility to Les Bains de Bruxelles, which currently manages three municipal swimming pools at reasonable prices, which was a key consideration for city planners.
Construction is expected to cost €11.5 million, with operating costs standing at €500,000.
The City Councillor wants the planning clearance secured by 2023, so the pool can open in 2026.
