Raumati Pool seismic strengthening

Work to strengthen the Council-owned Raumati Pool building will begin later in 2025, starting with the northern section of the building under the Waterfront Bar.

Raumati Pool has been closed as a pool facility for over 13 years.

A recent structural survey of the complex identified the building has a low New Building Standard (NBS) of 15 per cent and is considered earthquake prone. 

This means a structural engineer has identified a potential problem if there was a moderate earthquake. 

Because the building adjoins the Waterfront Bar, Council is obliged to make its base and foundations safe.

The owners of the Waterfront Bar have also lodged a building consent application to undertake renovations.  

This renovation work is dependent on the part of building attached to the venue being strengthened. We are committed to doing this.

A staged approach 

There are two parts of the building that require attention, so we’ll be taking a two-staged approach to this project.

Stage one will focus on the northern end of the building under the Waterfront Bar, and the old pool service buildings.

This work is expected to take six months to complete.

Work will begin the 2025/26 financial year with a budget of $835,000.

This work can be done in isolation from the remainder of the building and will meet Councils legal requirements with regard to keeping our tenants safe in an earthquake.

Stage two would include looking at the future use of the building and using this process to inform any future investment in the final stage of strengthening the remainder of the building.

There are currently no plans for how this part of the building could be used in future, and we know there is a lot of community interest in the facility and how it could be repurposed.

Bringing this part of the building up to a usable standard would require significant investment.

More work will be required to decide how it could potentially be used before going ahead with any construction.

We’ll involve the community in this discussion and any proposals will need to go into the next long-term plan (2027/37) process, which includes public consultation.

We expect to begin a public engagement process on this in early 2026.

It is important to note that:

• Any future construction can only be done within the complex’s existing footprint.
• If the building was removed, the land it sits on would return to open space status and could not be built on in future.