What next for paddling pool plagued by problems?

The public paddling pool in Guildford's Stoke Park is no stranger to issues.

It opened a month late last year because of staff sickness and in 2022 was forced to shut just days after a £141,000 refurbishment because parents said its floor was too slippery for children.

Now, the pool is once again more than a month late to open as engineers try to balance the chlorine levels, and are yet to determine what is causing the issue.

When asked how much the ongoing work is costing the taxpayer, the leader of Guildford Borough Council was unable to answer. So what exactly is going on at Stoke Park and what needs to happen for the pool to reopen?

Council leader Julia McShane told BBC Radio Surrey that the current high levels of chlorine in the water could be a public health risk.

She said it would particularly affect vulnerable people and might lead to skin or eye irritation as well as stomach and breathing problems.

"We don't want to be causing people those issues to their health," she said.

"I can reassure people that the teams are working incredibly hard with experts to try to find out what the problem is and to resolve this as quickly as possible so we can get this pool open again."

But with temperatures in Guildford set to hit 32C on Monday, many families have been left feeling frustrated.

"It doesn't seem like they can get it right on anything really, it's a real shame that it's like that again, we had a lovely summer here last year once it was sorted," one parent said.

Another told us: "We're all sad because we used it last year and it was lovely, a lot of people enjoyed being there, but unfortunately it's not open."

Ms McShane said it would not be fair to give a reopening date to the public as a timeframe for repairs is not yet clear, but she did say work would continue from next week.

"The team are going to empty the pool again, flush it through, fill it back up again, probably try a different chemical treatment and then test it again," she said.

"When we're absolutely certain that the pool is safe to use, then we'll reopen."

And how much is this all costing?

Ms McShane was unable to give a figure and the council did not provide us with one either when we followed it up.

So, for now, families will just have to keep their fingers crossed and hope the sun is still around when the pool eventually reopens.

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