Bosses at Dundee’s £33 million Olympia leisure centre have been swimming against a tide of problems since it opened in 2013.
Leisure and Culture Dundee was forced to carry out more than £6m worth of repairs to the facility after several issues were discovered with the pools in October 2021 – just eight years after it had opened.
The centre reopened in December 2023 – but by mid-February 2024 the leisure and toddler pools were already out of action, and more repairs were needed when a metal fixing fell from a flume.
Here, we ask six key questions about what has gone wrong with Dundee’s biggest leisure venue – and who should take the blame.
1. What caused the first closure of the Olympia centre in Dundee?
The Olympia pools initially closed “temporarily” in October 2021 due to what was described as “unexpected lighting issues”.
During this closure, further inspections were carried out while contractors were asked to replace the lights in the hope of reopening the pools.
However, more problems were identified, including corrosion in bolt fittings on the flumes structure.
An extended closure was announced while an inspection of the entire facility took place.
2. What issues were found?
Problems in the pool hall were first identified shortly after its opening in 2013.
Staff at the time raised concerns about flooding in the plant room, with the deterioration of the facility just six weeks after it had opened branded “shocking” by council officials.
Other documents showed how remedial work to rusting flume columns had “already failed” too.
While many of these snagging problems were addressed in the first year, some were never fully rectified.
Documents released in June 2022 showed that the issues with the plant room have persisted through the entire life of the building.
The original contractor carried out rectification works on “several occasions” but these had “different levels of success” – and the issues gradually returned.
The main pool was also built too short for competition purposes, although the council now claims that has been addressed.
In 2017, an outside expert was brought in to find out what the potential cause of the corrosion in the pool hall could be.
He identified a number of issues, including humidity levels that fell outwith the professional guidelines.
Several years later, in 2021, another list of defects was produced which suggested problems that could be attributed to “poor maintenance”.
This included the corrosion of stainless steel handrails and barriers.
The report noted: “It has been concluded that the condition of stainless steel is a result of poor maintenance/housekeeping.”
3. What has been done about the Olympia problems?
When the Olympia closed for repairs in 2021, leisure officials identified 39 different areas where work was needed.
This included permanently addressing the plant room issues, fixing corrosion on the flumes and seats, and improving ventilation and temperature control systems.
Furthermore, local authority officials said they were looking at the operational management of the facility and that they would put in place a range of new measures for future years.
These included:
- Reinforcing existing and creating new strategies and processes for the management of the environmental conditions and high usage of the pools
- Introducing periodic maintenance and refurbishment periods with potential annual shutdowns – something the pools have never had before
- Improving cleaning arrangements to ensure they deal with the “aggressive atmosphere” of the pools
4. How much did the Olympia repairs cost and who paid?
The work at the Olympia cost £6.1m in total.
Most of the cash, £4.5m, was included in the council’s capital plan that was approved in January 2022.
The remaining funds came from a Covid-19 contingency that was built into the capital plan, and nearly £900,000 from the council’s renewal and repair fund.
Ultimately, with Dundee City Council funding Leisure and Culture Dundee, the costs came from taxpayers’ pockets.
5. Why are the Olympia’s pools now shut again?
In February 2024, the leisure and toddler pools at Olympia were shut unexpectedly.
The operator originally cited a “technical issue”.
But after days of silence, Leisure and Culture Dundee finally admitted it was facing having to carry out yet more repairs, after a metal rod fell from a tower that supports one of the flumes – nearly hitting swimmers below.
It was also revealed that the operator was addressing issues with the “dosing and balancing of the pool chemicals”.
It has yet to be confirmed whether these issues are related to the repair work that was carried out during the two-year closure or new problems.
However, there are now calls for Leisure and Culture Dundee to come clean about what caused the latest issues and how much they will cost to put right.
A timescale for this latest closer has also not been confirmed.
6. Who is to blame for the Olympia issues?
The Olympia was designed by Dundee City Council’s architectural services division and built by Mansell Construction – which became Balfour Beatty during the project.
While little has been said about whether there were any flaws in the design or construction of the building, the report released in June 2022 identified “several factors contributing to the current closure which are inextricably linked and therefore not easy to diagnose”.
However, the report, by property chief Neil Martin and city development boss Robin Presswood, identified the following as areas that must be improved:
- Daily maintenance routines
- Initial workmanship and detailing
- Operational management of the pool
- Ventilation/humidity control
- Cleaning methodology and frequency
- Periodic closure for maintenance
Balfour Beatty has never responded to questions from The Courier about its role in the project.
At a meeting in December 2021, councillors tasked the chief executive with undertaking a review of the design and construction of the building.
That would include “an assessment of liability in respect of the contractual works”.
The outcome of that assessment was not made public, but officials said they issued “legal advice” to councillors.
Meanwhile, at the same December meeting, councillors were told that some of the recommendations made by the outside expert in 2017 had not been implemented.
At that point, Mr Presswood told councillors he thought the building had been designed to avoid annual maintenance.
“Now we are looking into annual maintenance closures in future,” he said.
In December 2023, council leader John Alexander said he felt “dozens” of people were to blame for the Olympia issues.
Without naming individuals, he said: “This includes every council leader, chief executive and director.”
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