Plans to remove the roof and infill the pool at the former Glenalbyn Swimming Pool in south Dublin have been announced by Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council.
In a statement posted on its website the county council said the work is necessary for health and safety reasons.
Locals said workers could be seen on the roof on Thursday.
The move comes comes just weeks ahead of the appointment of consultants who are to produce a design for the restoration of the pool. They will also provide a design for an alternative pool on a site opposite Stillorgan shopping centre, beside the N11.
The council said the process to design both schemes would proceed.
The timeframe for the design stage is about nine months at which time a final decision is to be taken on the location of the pool.
Fallen panels
But the council said it was now moving “to address serious public safety issues associated with the structure of Glenalbyn swimming pool which was closed in late 2013 because of safety concerns”.
It said following “recent extreme weather conditions and further recent weather warnings issued by Met Éireann”, it had been decided to remove the roof and infill the pool from Glenalbyn “in a controlled manner”.
According to the council a recent inspection identified a further deterioration in the condition of the roof, with a number of fallen panels at both gable ends of the building.
“The council is now proceeding to make arrangements to carry out the work necessary to make the structure safe, including the removal of the roof and the infilling of the pool,” the statement noted.
Council Cathaoirleach Barry Saul said he did not believe the work would affect the chances of Glenalbyn reopening. He siad the pool’s filtration system and the pool itself would possibly all have to be replaced. But Cllr Deirdre Donnelly who last month helped organise a local protest to mark the second anniversary of the closure said she “would have great concerns” about the council action.
Now an emergency motion for Monday’s council meeting is to be tabled by Green Party deputy l eader Cllr Catherine Martin who said she was horrified by the council’s action which the members had not discussed.
“Instead of refurbishing the swimming pool, as promised by the council, and as the local community wants, this is further proof that it is the intention of the council to take irreversible steps to decommission the building and render the challenge of refurbishment twice as difficult,” said Cllr Mrtin.
Local TD Shane Ross, who has been to the forefront of moves to keep Glenalbyn Pool open, said he believed the two-design scenario was unnecessary and would “just lead to further delays”.
He said the council should proceed with the refurbishment of Glenalbyn immediately.
